The Black Petal
by BlinkByou
Summary: Sequel to The Fallen Portrait. Four years later and five new lives. Four years of accomplishments and four years of regrets. One summer, two returns, and love with the unexpected. It was supposed to be simple, but life never is.
1. Prologue

A/N: Well here it is. The sequel to The Fallen Portrait. If you are not a reader of the previous story I suggest you read the first one first. I do not feel like explaining anything to anyone, so please, do yourself a favor and leave this story to read the first one.

To those who have read my previous story, I hope you enjoy this one. It's a bit more mature I must say, and the characters are older. So yeah. Anyway, on with the prologue.

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They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. I've never believed these words, yet day by day, a little piece of him fades away. It's been four years and no word of him has graced my ears. I know he is college now; he has an art major like I always believed. But anything else? No.

What about me? I'm just the same. I have just graduated from high school, what a relief. I almost cried with happiness at my graduation for I was to face no more anger and hate. High school was okay with them by my side, but without him, it was lonely.

One highlight of my high school life was the discovery of a hidden talent. Singing. Mind you, it's not pop, rock or country. My instructor stated it as 'Broadway Talent.' I personally don't think much of my somewhat abnormally high pitched voice, but obviously talent scouts do. I'm to sing at an audition in a couple of months. The winner will sing a solo during a Broadway play.

I'm not sure if I want to do this though. I'm still somewhat shy and carry a low self image. Also, I applied to go to a local college and my studies might interfere with my singing. Another downside is that I have to find myself a pianist to play the piece that goes to song. I've had no luck so far. Despite these things though, I want it badly. Music is such a powerful thing and this is a once in a lifetime chance.

Should I do it?

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Sometimes I feel as if my life has passed me by. Here I am twenty years old and still not attending college. My boyfriend is attending Carpton like he always intended to. I can't lie and tell you I'm not jealous.

I probably will never have the finances to attend a college. I'm now working three jobs to pay the rent for the hellhole I call my apartment. Everyday seems a little worse, you know? The future just seems so bleak.

My mom passed away last year. It was bound to happen. Death is sure thing when you drink and drive. Though I have few good memories of her I must say I miss her. I cried at her funeral, the first time in years. My mom and I could've been so much more, it's a pity neither of us realized it until it was too late.

I tried to stop her that night. I told her not to go out, not to leave. She never did listen to me. Two hours later I got a phone call from the police. She had driven herself into a tree and died on impact. I walked around in a daze for days until reality sunk in when the landlord told me I had two days to pack up my stuff and leave. I had no where to go so I stayed with my boyfriend for awhile till I could get back up on my feet.

If it wasn't for him, I'd probably not be here right now. I don't know what I'd do if we ever had to part. As cowardly as it is, I'd probably commit suicide.

Sometimes I wonder about where I'm going and why my life has past me by. Sometimes I'm just sitting and watching the clock tick away.

Where is my life taking me?

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It seems like every goal I've set I've easily achieved. Here I am at the great Carpton College on a full ride scholarship. It's pretty amazing, some might say, I don't think it is though. It's just another thing that I'm good at. Achieving.

Following my decision when I was fifteen, I am doing a science major. It's interesting enough, and the courses are more than challenging, but I just want more than this.

I haven't seen my brother in ages. We occasionally talk on the phone, but besides that I have heard no word from him. From what I've gathered from the phone calls it feels as if he has surpassed me in everything. I no longer feel the connection we had for the few months that I knew him. He is more mature now, louder, and happier. It's as if I'm getting to know a whole new person.

My girlfriend and I have been going out for four years now. It seems so long when I say it but it really doesn't feel like it. I plan to buy her a diamond soon because I think it's about time we take the next step. Whenever I think about it though I get really nervous.

What happens if she lets me down?

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Sixteen seems so long ago now. I don't regret moving on from that age. My life is so different now, so much more than I had first thought. My art major is giving me more options than I could ever imagine. I can honestly say it's worth the hard work.

I recently got noticed by a director of a design company. I ran into him at a coffee shop one afternoon. I was busy working on a drawing for my life drawing class when he came up to me and asked what company I was with. I told him I was just a student and that my drawing was for an art class. He looked surprised and asked me a question I never expected. 'How would you like to have a job as full time designer at my company?"

I immediately said yes because this would give me a chance to show the world what I could do. It's been tough designing for the company along with my studies, but it's worth it.

On another note, I miss my home. I haven't been there in four long years. There are many things I don't miss about my home world, but the things I do miss, overcome those things that I don't.

I don't know why I keep her picture by my bedside. My feelings for her have long since died and I feel no regret about leaving her behind. Yet I keep her picture. Maybe it's a reminder of my home, reminder of my past self. I should get rid of this picture. I don't want to remember who I used to be. But every time I pick it up to shred it, I don't. It shouldn't be such a problem. I should be able to forget about it all.

So why haven't I?

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Everyday a cloud of guilt lingers over my head. I feel as if I'm living today for yesterday. To repair what I broke. To fix what is broken. I've made too many mistakes to count, yet I can count everything I've done right.

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday. I'll be an official adult. I don't want to face tomorrow. I don't want to face the man I'll be for the rest of my life. I don't want to face myself. But I don't have a choice.

I started doing heroin and cocaine when I turned seventeen. I couldn't face the mirror everyday. Negative thoughts plagued my mind and the dirt on my hands could not be washed away. The drugs were sort of like a birthday present. I felt happy for the first time in a year. Tomorrow I can say proudly that I've been clean for two years. I went into rehab at the urgency of one of my dear friends. I was there for a whole year and during that time one of my counselors told me about music composition.

The past two years I have been composing music for orchestras. It's one of the few things that make me happy. I'm doing a score for an upcoming movie. I don't need the money or the fame; I just want to do what I love. I'll be heading back to my home island in a few weeks to work on a piece there. I don't want to leave this world. I don't want to go back.

I know I shouldn't felt this worried and scared, but all I see is failure. The people who finally realized who I am…who I was. My parents, my old friends. It seems almost impossible.

Going back is going to be hard. But facing the people who I once hurt will be even harder.

Is it really worth it?

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_Questions are answers that are misunderstood._

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Peace


	2. Four Plus Kairi

A/N: This chapter made me so happy for some reason…it was like…I don't know. I just really like this chapter for some reason. Maybe because it's not angsty. It's actually happy. I left some key elements of Kairi's story out of this chapter for a reason, so don't ask about her singing career yet. I'll go into that on another chapter. This one is supposed to be 'feel good'.

On another note, I must add some important info to this. To make this clear on ages and everything:

Kairi-18, Sora-20, Roxas-20, Namine-20, Riku-21 (Just wanted to make that clear for anyone who might be confused in later chapters.

So this might frighten a few of you, but there is a **possible** character death in this story. I will not state who. This is a warning to all. And I'm just considering it right now, seeing as I don't have the whole plot in my head yet.

Another thing is (as you might have noticed) I haven't put the couple shippings out. Only Namine and Roxas are a couple at the moment, and we'll see where that's going. I don't think I'll put out any info on the final couple pairings, so there's no real worth in asking.

Note: this does not mean Kairi and Sora aren't going to be together. You'll just have to wait and see.

Now enough of this, onto the story.

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Finishing up there and starting anew here. It's like a cycle of life that I'll never get used to. But maybe this time things will work out all right in the end. I've got optimism on my side and it'll take a whole lot of crap to break it down. The sun looks bright today, so let's not think negative thoughts.

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Brochure after brochure lined the small café table. Pencils were scattered and acceptance forms were stacked in an untidy pile. Four empty coffee cups were sitting next to each of the two people seated. The people seated were rubbing their foreheads in frustration and thought.

This whole situation is simply called 'Picking the College'.

The girl preferred smaller colleges. She wasn't really into all the sports, fraternities and sororities that the larger colleges offered. She wasn't looking for clubs or student activities. She wasn't too excited about living on campus but she definitely wanted to move out of her home. For all it was worth, she couldn't make her mind.

The boy on the other hand loved noise. He wanted to join a soccer team and even join a fraternity because of his high grades that he expected he was going to get, even though the girl knew he wasn't going to get them. He liked the busy life and he most definitely wanted to live on campus. However, he took into consideration the thought of leaving one of his best high school friends behind. They had stated early in their junior year of high school that they wanted to go to the same college. Unfortunately, things weren't looking too bright.

"So…what is it that you have against this college again?" The blonde asked tiredly while looking down at the brochure of his favorite college. It was just his luck that he got accepted into this school, Kairi on the other hand, had been guaranteed an acceptance.

"It's so big, Tidus…you know I don't want to go to a big college." Kairi said through a sigh. "Plus, look how much it costs a semester." She said pointing to the circled 5 digit number. "I can't really afford that, even with the scholarships."

Tidus nodded. Kairi's family wasn't poor, he knew that. They were just middle class. It often took Tidus awhile to remember that seeing as his family was on the wealthy side. "You could take out a loan…" He said after a minute.

"My mom doesn't really want me to do that." Kairi said, swirling the contents of a little bit of cold coffee in her cup.

"But you're 18…you're an adult now." Tidus said annoyed. He didn't like Kairi's mother at all, she was stuck up, rude, and only seemed to care about herself.

"But I still live at home, and as long as I live at home I live under her rules." Kairi answered patiently. She was used to Tidus's frequent child-like antics. It was almost as if he were her little brother, despite him being almost a year older than her.

"Well…then move out." Tidus said after a moment, but then quickly realized it was impossible. "Oh I forgot…"

Kairi giggled a little. "Yeah Tidus…money is an issue."

After ordering another round of coffee, Kairi spoke up once again. "You know, I think we should just go to separate colleges."

Tidus looked up quickly and studied her face. "But Kai, we were supposed to go to the same college…"

"I know, I know…but, we're different Tidus. We like different things. It's best we do what we want to. It's not like we won't see each other again."

Tidus touched the rim of his coffee cup only to jump back awkwardly as the steam bit him. "Um uh yeah…" He said quickly, blushing a little.

Kairi giggled despite herself. "Yeah to what…?"

"Oh uh nothing. I…I know this college isn't far from your house." Tidus said pointing to the college he wanted to go to. "But, where are you going? Because if the college you want to go to is another world or something…" He stated, waving his hand as if to explain the words he hadn't said.

Kairi smiled at this and sighed. She knew her ex-boyfriend still had small feelings for her, even if they weren't romantic. And she was honest with herself, she did too. She'd really miss him if they never saw each other again. They had a close friendship, and she'd really regret losing another person she valued.

"I want to go to this college." Kairi said, pointing to one of the brochures. "It's only a few miles away from the school you want to go to. We can still hang out."

Tidus looked at the brochure and nodded. "I guess its okay…I guess."

"Tidus, I could catch the bus to your school…honestly. I'm not moving to some unknown world. I don't really have the cash for that." Kairi said with a giggle. "Come on now, It's the first day of summer…let's have fun."

Tidus nodded and finally smiled. "Yeah, okay. Well then…I guess we're done with this." He said, gathering the brochures and the draining the last of his coffee. "We're still on for rock climbing tomorrow right?" Tidus said putting on a sugary yet devilish smile.

He knew Kairi despised rock climbing, yet she was doing it for the mere fact that Tidus had begged on his knees for her to go with him. He had stated that he didn't like going with only 'the guys', yet forgetting that Kairi would be the only girl going along on their little trip to the wall.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Kairi said with a sigh. "You're paying for my share though." She stated, standing up and giving him a hug.

"I always do." He answered, hugging her back. "See you later."

Kairi smiled and said good-bye as well and left the small café. The cool breeze of early summer hit her softly as she stepped outside of the café and Kairi couldn't help but smile again. Summer was one of her favorite seasons and she had high hopes for the next three months.

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Kairi sighed happily as she sipped the large glass of lemonade in her hand while swinging slowly on the swinging bench that was on her large front porch. Everything seemed just right at this moment. No school to worry about and no grades to stress over. She had been accepted into the college she wanted and Tidus was going to be okay with it. The college had even sent a letter today telling her that there was a possibility that she could get a full-tuition scholarship. Good grades paid off was all she was thinking at the moment.

Her little moment of bliss was interrupted a few minutes later with the beeping of her cell-phone.

"Hello?" Kairi said after picking up her new skinny silver phone. She was in love with the item and kept it at her side at all times.

"Hey Kairi, doing anything?" Came a familiar voice. Kairi smiled, knowing that the call meant having fun.

"Nope, just hanging out at home." She answered.

"You want to do something, I'm bored out of my dang wits." The person on the other line said, boredom evident in his voice.

Kairi giggled, and switched the phone to her other ear. "Sure, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm, well we're going to a movie later so we can't do that…um, how about we go bowling? We haven't done that in awhile."

Kairi smiled, he was finally suggesting they do something she was good at. "You know you suck at bowling, Roxas."

"Yeah I know, but its fun." He said after a small laugh.

"Okay then, you want to walk or…?"

"Naw, I'll pick you up." The blonde on the other line said.

"Cool, see you in a few." Kairi said before hanging up. She took a few more sips of her drink before skipping inside to change out of the summer dress she was wearing and into some jean capri's and a sunny yellow tank top. Grabbing her bowling shoes, Kairi slowly walked back outside and sat back down on the swing to wait for Roxas to arrive. Kairi knew she didn't have to wait long because Roxas's apartment was very close to her home. And like she expected, he was there within the next 15 minutes.

"Hey hey." Kairi said, getting into the passenger seat of his extremely tidy car.

"'sup Kairi." Roxas replied, backing out of her driveway.

"Nothing much…oh well, I finally decided on a college." She said, rolling down her window to let her hand feel the cool summer air that she now felt addicted to.

"Really? Let me guess, that one that you were talking about yesterday…Violet Valley?"

"Mmhm." Kairi said with a nod. "I love that college, it seems perfect for me."

"Yeah with a stupid name like 'Violet Valley…" Roxas started with a snicker. Kairi frowned and punched him in the arm, pretending to be upset even though she knew he was kidding.

"Jeez, Kairi. Anger issues…" Roxas said, rubbing his arm. He would never admit it, but it actually hurt. "What about Tidus?" He asked. He didn't think that Tidus would ever step foot in a college called 'Violet Valley' not even if he was paid to.

"He's going to go to another college, I think it's for the best." Kairi said after a minute. "I mean we'll still get to see each other and everything but…I don't know, maybe a little distance is good."

Roxas nodded, deciding not to put a comment on the issue. He remembered the day the two had broken up. It was still fresh in his mind. Kairi had cried so hard and for so long that he was considering taking her to the hospital.

"Well here we are." He said as the turned into the bowling alley parking lot. It was a fairly new bowling alley built just the past year. Kairi and Roxas were grateful for this because they absolutely despised the smelly, burnt popcorn smelling, filthy old bowling alleys that seemed to be everywhere in their city.

Upon entering the bowling alley, Kairi's good mood somewhat diminished. She didn't really see why the haughty brunette girl was there. She only prayed that she was leaving soon. To her luck, Selphie and her posse were indeed on the way out. But they still spotted Kairi, just as Kairi had spotted them.

Kairi only gave a weak smile as the group of self-centered girls flipped their manicured middle fingers at her before laughing crazily like a pack of hyenas on the prowl. They didn't have a reason for being here, no, they were man hunting as always. Kairi could only thank god that there were very few people in the bowling alley and that Roxas was the only "eligible" man in the hyena's eyes. And knowing Roxas, Kairi knew he was disgusted by them.

Said Roxas frowned at the girls and mouthed a sorry to Kairi as they made their way to the exit. Kairi only smiled and walked up to the front desk to pay for her ball. It was summer; she wasn't going to let it get to her.

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"So that was like…my best game ever of bowling. I actually got 100 points." Roxas said excitedly as they exited the bowling alley.

Kairi giggled and ran a hand through her auburn red hair that she was letting grow out. So far it was bit past her shoulders, she wanted it to grow a little bit longer though. "That was like my worst game…I got like…300."

Roxas frowned and rolled his eyes. "I got like…300." He mimicked before giving her smile. Looking at his watch he gave a small gasp.

"Good god, it's almost 5!" He said quickly, pulling out his keys and running toward the driver's seat. Kairi raised her eyebrows and picked up her speed as well.

"They guy at the desk said it was 4:30." Kairi said as Roxas erratically pulled out of the bowling alley parking lot.

"Stupid idiot…" Roxas muttered. "Ugh, now we're going to miss at least ten minutes…"

"Not unless you let Namine drive." Kairi said, as they sat at a red-light. "She's way faster than you."

"Yeah I know…but she's dangerous when she's in a hurry." Roxas said with a shudder, remembering the few times he had been in the back seat while his girlfriend drove. It was a living nightmare. A wave of nausea clouded his senses at the mere thought of his past near death experiences. The blonde girl's hair flying back in the wind, the sound of large sticks cracking under the speed of the car, and himself lying flat against the backseat of the car with his teeth locked together was all he could picture.

"What are you scared of her or something?" Kairi said with a giggle as she looked over at her blonde friend. The blood seemed to have drained from his face at the mere mention of his girlfriend driving.

"No! I'm just…uneasy, that's all." Roxas said as they pulled into the parking lot of their local mall. _'Uneasy as hell.'_ He thought nervously.

"I'll go get her." Kairi said, getting out of the car. Walking quickly to the entrance of the mall, Kairi began the long walk to the store in the way back of the large building. Most people would've been lost because the building felt like a large maze, but Kairi knew her way because of the many times she had been in here. She and Namine were always at the mall. Namine because she had a job there, and Kairi because she liked talking to her best girl friend in person.

Walking into the large surf and skate clothing store that Namine worked in, Kairi spotted her immediately. She was gathering her stuff from behind the cashier station.

"Hey, I was beginning to wonder where you guys were." Namine said with a smile, as Kairi approached the station.

"We went bowling and the guy at the desk gave us the wrong time." Kairi said, trying to catch her breath. "Are you ready to go?" She asked, remembering Roxas was waiting.

"Heck yeah, let's get out of here." Namine said, grabbing her purse and following the frantic red-head out of the store.

Once out in the parking lot and approaching the car, Namine looked at her black and white stripped watch. "We've got ten minutes till the show starts and the theater is twenty minutes away. Think I can make it?" She asked her friend.

Kairi grinned evilly. "We should take the back roads." Was her only answer as she jumped into t he passenger seat of the car. Roxas grumbled and whined as he was quickly forced to the back of the car, his girlfriend taking the seat he was previously sitting in.

To put it simply, they made it to the theater in one piece. Kairi laughing madly as the walked into the theater, Namine smirking in a bad-ass way, and Roxas holding his stomach while making a bee-line sprint to the men's bathroom. And like always, they entered the theater room right as the opening credits ended.

For Kairi, it was the perfect start to an unpredictable summer.

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And let us all jump when we want to. Free falling into pretty weather. I hope it starts just as it ends. But I'm getting a feeling that I won't be so lucky. Something's going to happen, and it just might get ugly.

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A/N: Yay! First chapter finished. Thanks for reading this you guys! So…I find it kind of annoying that I had so many people add this to alerts and favorites, yet didn't review. It honestly makes me kind of angry. And I'm not a review addict, it just gets on my nerves when people just read my story and favorite it, but don't leave a comment. It's like I put all this effort into writing a nice chapter, and then people just favorite it but don't leave a comment. But whatever, I can't force anyone to do it.

For all who did review! You guys are great. I'm so glad that so many of my favorite reviewers reviewed the prologue. I'm glad you guys followed the story too; I hope you'll like this one as much as the last one…even though it might disappoint a few.

Oh yeah, important note: For all that do not read the author's notes…please (for the sake of my well-being) **READ THEM**. I am tired of explaining things that are in my author's notes to people.

And a word on why I posted the sequel so soon. It's spring break for me, so I had a lot of spare time. When I get back to school, I'm probably going to be extremely busy. So I thought I might as well post it while I have the time.

Anyways, enough of that, till next time!

Peace.


	3. Four Plus Sora

A/N: A week later and a new chapter. I'm trying to put out a chapter each week. I'm not sure if I'll be able to post the next chapter next week though, I have tons of tests because I'm approaching midterms.

I'm quite certain some people will be somewhat upset by this chapter. I will not apologize for any of it though; this is how it is so far.

In regards to why I'm posting Sora's 'recent events' second, it just needs to be that way. I have it all planned out so that the story will run smoothly. It wouldn't work if his chapter was like...chapter four or five.

Hope you enjoy it and please review.

On to the story.

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They can't describe who I am and neither can I. I've changed so much I can't see who I was before. I don't miss my old self and I don't miss my old life. However I can't say that I don't miss anything. I miss my insight, and I guess that's about it. I never knew I'd grow to be so shallow.

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_Tap __Tap_

The brunette girl tried hard to ignore it. She was busy, as usual, typing away at her cluttered desk with stacks of papers and empty cups of coffee beside her. She was normally interrupted as she was now, but she found this interruption to be entirely unnecessary

_Tap __Tap_

She sighed and bit her lip in frustration. It wasn't that she didn't mind this interruption, she actually quite enjoyed it. But there were reasons for her annoyance, one being her lingering cold, second being her lingering crush.

_Tap __Tap_

"Olette…" The owner of the tapping finger whispered into her ear, mischievously.

Said girl kept her lips in a tight frown, despite wanting to smile at the annoying yet adorable voice of her crush of six months. She felt as if she were in high school again when she was around him. It could be a good feeling, yes, but most often times a bad one. High school romances never worked out.

_Tap __Tap_

"Olette…come on, talk to me…?" The owner whispered again in a whiny tone.

Olette sighed and rubbed her forehead before turning quickly in her seat. "What do you want?" She asked politely yet with a fake angered look on her face. It wasn't worth the effort though; she knew that he knew it was a phony frown.

"Nothin' …." The man started while running a hand through his hair. He looked as if he were in deep thought for a second before he spoke up again. "Actually, I have a favor to ask of you. I have to watch this kid in like…I don't know…three minutes…can you watch him for me?"

Olette looked him over and frowned. This time it wasn't a fake frown. "A child? Here?"

"Eh yeah, I forgot to ask the boss for the day off…" The man trailed off. Olette didn't believe him. She knew that he had planned all of this.

"Sora, I'm your secretary. I do secretary jobs of which do not include watching four year olds."

"I know that…but honestly…" Sora said, trailing off once again before giving her one of his infamous smiles that made girls want to jump and devour him. Though never one to admit to being man crazy, Olette was one of those crazy fan girls and was not immune to his almost cheesy grins.

"Sora, I have to finish this. I'm sorry, but you've got to deal with that kid. Next time don't assume that your secretaries will jump to take over your babysitting jobs." The woman said before turning back to her papers with a feeling of guilt.

Sora sighed loudly and made a whining sound. "I guess you don't love me…" He said with a dramatic flair before walking back into his office.

Olette only smiled to herself, knowing there were no hard feelings. A few seconds later, she was interrupted again when a pretty woman with a long braid walked into the office lobby. She was holding the hand of child and Olette assumed this was the one Sora would be watching.

"Hello." Olette said sweetly to the woman as they approached the desk. The woman smiled whilst the child merely ignored her.

"Hello, is Sora available?" The woman asked, looking around the fancy and extremely expensive office. The office consisted of two rooms; one was the waiting room slash lobby, while the other was Sora's office. The woman could tell that Sora added a personal touch to almost all of the furniture, paintings, paint color, and everything else in the room. Upon taking a closer look, the woman could say for certain that Sora had actually picked out everything in the room.

The walls were a deep navy blue, the furniture a vibrant white with black and red stripes running down at odd angles. The paintings and photographs were of unique objects and unique people. He had one photograph of himself on the farthest wall of the room. It was a picture of him with another man that the woman had gotten to know well over the past four years. While Sora looked almost insane with his big smile and signature sunglasses perched at an odd angle on his head, the other boy had a soft quiet smile and appeared to be a lot more mature. Written in crazy, yet appealing print across the bottom were the words: "King Sora 'the one and only' and his brother Flamin' Duke."

The woman shook her head at the immaturity of the picture and turned back towards the desk. Olette had just finished making a call into her boss's room to tell him his visitors were there. Seconds later, Sora came strolling out of his office, coffee cup in hand and cell-phone at his ear.

"Ya uh huh…well no." He said into his phone, mouthing a sorry to the woman and her child. "I've been over this, sweets, you just can't…ugh, no…"

Olette frowned after picking up the notable word in his speech. Sweets it was. She knew he was talking to his girlfriend. Olette wasn't one to hate on other girls, it wasn't worth her time. But his girlfriend, well his girlfriend was an exception. A big exception. The brunette hated the other woman so much she could barely stand to be in the same room with her.

The other woman was beautiful by nature. A model type girl with long legs and a big chest. A typical hottie. But it wasn't her looks that bothered the brunette. It was her attitude. The woman was a rude, selfish, full-of-herself know it all. Everyone knew this, heck, even Sora probably did. So question was, why was he dating her?

"Look, I'm not kicking out my brother, we share the dang penthouse." Sora almost yelled into the phone. "I don't care; I've only been dating you for three months."

The woman with the child sighed and sat down on the comfy couch that served as waiting chairs. The child only sat down next to her, obviously not caring whether the man on the phone was chatting about personal issues or not.

"What the…we are not 'practically married'!" Sora yelled once again. "Look I'm kind of busy now…we'll talk about this later." He said almost in a whisper, realizing that people were watching him deal with his relationship issues that had nothing to do with them.

"Yeah um, sorry about that." Sora said, a tinge of pink coming to his cheeks after he closed his cell-phone. "What's up Aeris?" He asked the woman sitting on the couch, trying to quickly change the mood in the room.

"Oh nothing much, I'm just dropping off Zack. Thanks again for watching him." The pretty woman said, ushering the small boy forward. The boy looked up at Sora and frowned before turning back towards his mother.

"Yo, Zacky it's just me." Sora said to the shy four year old. The black haired boy just frowned again and buried his face into his mother's tan pants.

"Kid acts different when we we're at your house." Sora said before taking a sip of his coffee. "Nothin' I can't handle though. You have fun on your date now." He stated, ushering the woman out the door. "See you in a few, buh-bye."

Olette only smiled as she watched the little show. She could tell from the look on the child's face that the second his mother was gone he was going to go bad-ass on the poor unknowing Sora. She had experience with these types of kids. All three of her younger siblings were the type. As a matter of fact, she was probably the type herself.

Like she predicted, the second the door shut the child ran to the sofa and started jumping up and down. Sora let out a high pitched shriek when he turned to find his fancy one-of-a-kind sofa with shoe size child 8 muddy prints littering the white exterior.

"Oh my god! Get the he- just get off!" He yelled rushing forward and grabbing the kid in his arms. "Bad Zacky, bad little boy." He said, shaking the boy a little before sitting him on the floor.

"God you little mutant…" He muttered while examining his expensive couch. "Ugh, Olette could you get someone in here to clean this up. I've got to keep my eye on this little devil." Looking over at the boy who was already getting himself into more trouble by poking holes into a leather wall hanging, Sora growled and ran over to drag him away.

"Actually, make that _both _eyes. See you in like…five minutes. I'm not going to last." He muttered, dragging the boy into his spacious office.

Olette only giggled and turned to her computer to look up the number of the closest janitor.

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"Look kid, we've got one more hour together." Sora started, panting as leaned against his desk to take a quick rest. "You have _got_ to be tired." He said exasperated, forgetting what he was supposed to say so instead speaking on his thoughts.

"Uh uh. Not tired yet." The little spikey haired boy said, smiling nastily up at the man. "You're tired 'cause you're old."

Sora was about to nod to this but stopped after realizing what the boy had said. "Listen here young _child. _I am not tired because I am old." Sora said the last word with a grimace. Right now he did feel old, and old was not a word he liked to use. "I'm tired because I've been running around all day trying to catch your ass. So don't tell me-"

"You said a bad word, old guy." The young boy said, eyes widening. The child looked around the room as if someone would come busting down the door to beat the crap out of Sora for saying such a nasty word.

"I…yeah, okay. I meant butt." Sora said, hoping and praying that the four year old wouldn't report any of this back to his mother. Or worse…his father.

The young child gasped once again. "You said another bad word, old guy. God's going to rip out your tongue and send it below!" The child yelled, covering his mouth and then jumping up and down on one leg.

Sora rolled his eyes and let out a loud whine. "Whatever, I'm probably headed there anyway..." He muttered looking at his nails. It was quiet for a few seconds and Sora thought that the boy had turned back to ruining a few of his mechanical pencils like he had done a few minutes before. However, when he looked up, the boy was staring right back at him with the same look of shock on his face.

"What?" Sora snapped, frowning at the child.

"Well…aren't you going to say the right word?" The child asked with a level of maturity Sora didn't understand.

"The right word…? Oh right…okay, I meant your behind." Sora said, patting his own behind for emphasis. The boy rolled his eyes at this and smirked.

"Wrong." He said simply, and then started skipping around the room.

Sora looked at the boy and closed his eyes, leaning his head back in annoyance. "Like fine…whatever. What is the right word, _Zack_." He said through clenched teeth.

"It's bum-bum." The boy said smartly, rolling his eyes as if everyone knew that. Sora looked at him and stifled a laugh.

"Cute, kid. Cute." He said, ruffling the boy's hair before sitting back down at his desk. "Now go draw something for your mommy. Or, make yourself useful and sweep up that mess you made over there." He said, pointing to an overturned plant.

The boy rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day and stomped over to the stack of papers and crayons Sora had set out for him.

Sora cheered inwardly at the fact that the boy had finally listened to him for the first time that day. However, he knew that this wasn't the end of this battle. The boy was bound to do some more damage before he left.

Sora's thoughts were interrupted when his desk telephone started ringing.

"'ello?" Sora said into the phone, leaning back in his chair.

"What? Yeah…" He said into the phone, frowning at the person on the other lines tone of voice.

"Yeah I'm him. What?"

"Look Sir, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, yeah I did."

"Yes, I designed the shirt."

"_Excuse me?" _Sora said loudly into the phone, standing up quickly. "What the crap do you mean by that?"

The person on the other line picked up his voice and the conversation could easily be heard by the musing secretary in the other room.

"You mean…oh you did not just- …look here you piece of worn out dip s-!" Sora was about to start his train of cusses when he heard Olette clear hear throat loudly in the other room. Sora frowned, and bit his lip hard so as not to pour out his anger and frustration on both the man on the other line and the child inside the room.

"Dude, I designed the shirt for a girl!" Sora yelled into the phone, becoming livid once again. "Well I don't know, the words "Pretty Boys" with hearts scattered all over the damn thing kind of speaks for itself!" The man on the other line started yelling again and Sora couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his words.

"Well then, your son is gay. Time to face the truth buddy." Sora said with a smirk into a phone. His smirk went away and a look of irritation appeared on his handsome features when he heard the gasp of a child in the background.

Sora rolled his eyes as the man on the other line started screaming once again into his ear. Looking over at the child, Sora gasped to find him ripping various papers to pieces. And they weren't the papers he had given him.

They were files. Very important files that were one of a kind. And they were all in shreds.

Oh _hell _no.

"Get the fricken hell away from those papers before I whip your bum-bum!" Sora shrieked, dropping the phone and half running half sliding across the slippery wood floor to the small child who was laughing evilly.

On his way to the wicked little half-genius, Sora accidently pushed the button for the speaker phone and the minute he did a loud angry old man started spewing a dozen cuss words a second.

Sora on the verge of a mental break-down, grabbed the kid in one arm, raced over to the phone and picked it back up. "Keep your panties on Grandpa!" He yelled before slamming the phone back down on the hook.

"Oh my god!" He yelled sitting down in his chair. "For the love of crap!" He bellowed once again, before closing his eyes. "Oh for the sake of my life…" He muttered to himself, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I'm going to die…I'm going to die, here and now…"

A quiet silence was the only answer to Sora's spent rants. Quiet was all the man needed right now. Sora felt almost at peace for a second after he finally caught his breath.

"You said four very bad words, old guy." Came a quiet voice that made Sora tense up once again.

"You think?" He spat out, opening his eyes. "You know _buddy_, people say bad words when little kids annoy them."

"Really? My mom and dad don't." The boy said, smirking.

Sora smacked his own forehead with his hand before slowly sitting up. "Yeah well…whatever." He muttered, standing up to see what damage the little boy had caused.

"Hey old guy?"

"You know, I liked you a lot better when you just called me Uncle Sora." Sora said, gathering some random torn papers.

"I know, but I like old guy better." The kid said, playing with the phone on Sora's desk. "Who are they?" He suddenly asked. He pulled a picture he had found out from under his shirt. He was thinking about stealing it, but thought otherwise when he pictured his mother's angry face.

"What?" Sora said looking up. He walked over to the boy and plucked the picture out of his hand. It was him. And it was _her_. Sora frowned as the memories he had tried to bury came flooding back to him.

It almost seemed unreal, the picture. The boy he was looking at wasn't the man he was today. His appearance had changed. Drastically. No longer was he the loner goth. He'd shed that image the day he arrived to the world he was now living in. He was different now. He wore his naturally spikey hair out most days, some times putting it up into a pony tail. He liked vibrant colors and wasn't afraid of wearing them. He was casual, almost urban. The big diamond studs in both of his ears were proof to that. He was also taller, a lot more tan seeing as he spent more time outside than inside, and definitely more built. No, he was no longer the skinny teenager in the photograph.

His personality had changed too. No longer was he shy and observant. He was the life of the party and often had to be told to be considerate by close friends. He no longer rarely smiled or flirted. He was now known for that. He was it. He was popular. He was Sora.

But looking down at the photograph taken so long ago, he felt a sense of guilt. As if he had left a part of himself behind. A very important part.

Looking at the girl, he frowned. He didn't want to remember her. He didn't want to remember the person who had helped him through one of the most difficult times in his life. He didn't want to see her, hear her, or even discuss her. He wanted her gone from his life. But he couldn't erase her. Something always held him back.

For a second, he wondered. He wondered where she was, and what she was doing. If she happy or sad, lonely or mad. He wondered. And then he wondered no more.

"They…they're nobody." He said to the small boy before throwing the picture inside his desk.

A few minutes later, to Sora's great relief, Zack's mother returned, smiling while clinging to the arm of her husband whom the child was named after.

"How was Zack?" The Aeris asked, smiling as the little boy ran to give his mother and father a hug. Sora looked at the bratty little boy in annoyance but faked a smile.

"Ah, he was just like I um…expected." Sora said after a minute.

"Did you have fun Zack?" The little boy's father asked, eyeing Sora warily. Sora only eyed him back with a look of irritation on his face.

"Yeah, I want to come back again!" The little boy said. Sora's eyes widened and he had to lean back on the wall to keep himself from sliding to the floor.

"Guess what? I taught him a new word!" Little Zack said, jumping around the room.

"Oh? What was that?" Aeris asked, smiling softly at her only child.

"I taught him that bum-bum is the proper way to say a-s-s! He didn't know that mom, he said the bad word..."

Little Zack's parents looked at Sora sharply, anger and surprise written clearly on their faces as if someone had scribbled over them with a permanent black marker.. Sora only smiled nervously and swallowed. "H-hey, at least I learned something right…?"

It wouldn't sound right if he had said it out loud, but right at that moment, Sora wanted to kill the little 'innocent Zacky'.

He'd never get his chance to though, for he knew he was never going to babysit him again.

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I wouldn't really know what to say if I ever saw you again. I know it sounds bad, but you'd probably break my heart. I don't have feelings for you, and I doubt I ever will. But that doesn't mean you don't have a spot in my heart. And if you were to go, I'd never be able to fill it. I guess you still have a part of me. And I kind of want it back.

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A/N: So there we go, Sora plus four years. Interesting. Till next time!

Peace


	4. Four Plus Riku

A/N: Sorry for the late update. As usual, school is killing me. No need to go into that though.

Hope you like the chapter, it's kind of important…sets the scene for later chapters. Some of you might think its a filler, but its not. This chapter took me a long time to write. I rewrote it like…3 times. It was horrible, I wanted to end this story…but yeah, that wouldn't be worth it.

So I hope it's alright, I personally don't like it, but hopefully some of you will.

Review if you want.

Enjoy.

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I would've liked to say it was impossible. But I would be lying through my teeth. I would've liked to say it wasn't impossible. But I would by lying to you all. I would like you to understand me. But that's impossible, yet it's possible. And look now, see now. I'm lying once again.

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Buttery popcorn, headphones and papers. An odd combination, but one both were used to. He was used to her popcorn addiction, and she was used to his dedication to work. 

They were close friends; they had known each other for about four years. They both considered the other as a friend and nothing more. She was almost always hanging out with him for they did almost everything together. He was like the brother she never had and she was the confidence that he needed in his life.

Both knew relationships were complicated. They took time; they were often hard and stressful. But their relationship was different. It was peaceful and comfortable. Neither was pressured to confide anything in the other, yet they did so anyway. 

It was simple. Simple was how they liked it.

"This is new?" She asked, picking up one of his papers. 

"Yeah, but I don't like it." He answered, pulling off his headphones. "It's kind of boring."

"Let me hear it." She said simply, putting down her bowl of popcorn and then hopping over to grab a violin case.

"It's nothing, really." He said frowning. He wasn't confident about the piece. He never was.

"Shut up and play." She said in response, shoving the case into the man's arms.

He nodded. He never challenged her. Taking the beautiful instrument out of the case he looked down onto the paper and began playing the soft quiet melody he had written. 

The woman smiled and played with a piece of her hair as she listened to the quiet piece of composition. She could hear the hesitation in the notes yet the slight hint of confidence. It made her smile widen. Confidence was good.

The song was beautiful, almost like a lullaby. The man had raw talent for composition; it just came easy for him. The woman knew several students at the creative arts college the man attended who were also into composition. None of them came close to the amount of excellence the man had in the field. Not only could he compose, but he played two classical instruments exceptionally. And to think he'd only picked it up a few years ago.

"Well that's it." The man said, looking up after abruptly stopping the song. "I don't know…I don't really like it. What do you think?" He asked, searching the woman's eyes.

"I think it's beautiful, Riku. Keep it. It's special." She said, placing the piece into one of Riku's folders.

Riku smiled, albeit a very tiny one. "Thanks…I guess I will." He answered after a few seconds. Picking up some scattered papers he stood up. "You have any ideas for dinner, Yuffie."

At this Yuffie jumped up excitedly, regaining her hyper personality. "Um…ooh, I don't know…oh yeah, make pizza!" 

Riku chuckled and ran a hand through his long silver hair. He hadn't cut it since he moved away from the islands. It was now down to his mid-back and he usually kept it in a pony tail to keep it out of his face. 

"We have that every time you're here, Yuf."

"Yeah I know, but who cares?" The raven haired woman said, walking into the large extremely clean kitchen.

"Sora." Riku said, opening the refrigerator to locate the needed ingredients for Yuffies dinner wish. He wouldn't deny the request on his life. He hated saying no to people he cared for.

"Who the hell cares about what he wants?" The woman said, rolling his eyes. "That crazy thing…" she muttered.

Riku only raised his eyebrows in amusement. Yuffie and Sora didn't exactly get along. They always argued with one another. Riku knew that deep down they bother enjoyed it, but they would never admit to it. 

"What do you want on it?" Riku asked, pulling ingredients out of the fridge. Sora had stocked up on groceries the day before so they had about anything you could think of inside the large silver fridge.

"Pepperoni's, olives, mushrooms, those little fishy thingies, bacon...and um…cheese."

Riku smiled a little bit at this. "Cheese is a necessity, Yuffie. And no fish, Sora will kill me."

"Oh come on? I love those little baby fishies!" Yuffie exclaimed, frowning. "But yeah whatever…fine."

Riku was about to relent and let her have the fish when a door was heard from the entryway of the pent-house.

"Why is it so quiet in here?" Came a voice from the front room. "Riku where are ya?"

"In here." Riku said in reply to the voice.

"Man, are you cooking something? 'Cause I'm starved." Sora said walking into the kitchen. He threw his messenger bag on the island and leaned over the granite counter to see what he was making.

"Duke, please don't tell me you're going to put fish on this…please." He said eyeing the raven haired girl.

"Um…no, I'm not. I'm not putting pineapple on it either, so don't ask." Riku said, kneading the homemade dough. Sora frowned at this, and glared at the raven haired woman.

Turning back to look at Riku, Sora chuckled and then smirked. "God you look like a woman..."

Riku blushed and stopped his actions. "Excuse me?"

Sora chuckled once again and plopped himself down in one of the island chairs next to Yuffie.

"I don't know man, this whole cooking thing…"

"Sora shut your damn mouth. You look like a pregnant soccer mom when you clean the house like a crazed psycho." Yuffie said, punching him in the arm.

"Hands of the King, woman." Sora said, shoving her back.

Riku rolled his eyes as Yuffie punched Sora once again, knocking the brunette to the floor. He ignored them and proceeded to finish making the pizza before Sora could put in another comment.

A few seconds after he finished, the doorbell rang. 

"Hey could one of you get that?" Riku asked, peeking into the living room where Sora and Yuffie were busy throwing popcorn, DVDs, video game controllers and pillows at each other. Both of the arguing adults ignored him and continued to act like young children on the playground.

Riku rolled his eyes and walked passed them towards the hallway that lead to the living room. Upon reaching the door, he wiped his hands on the side of his jeans and put on a friendly face. 

Riku opened the door and then gave a small smile to the person in front of him. "Hey Olette, what's up?" He asked, opening the door wider so she could step inside.

"Oh nothing um, Sora forgot some stuff. The boss said he wanted some files filed before tonight…and well I didn't want him to get in trouble and all, so I kind of 

brought them..." She said nervously, glancing up at the silver haired man before looking back down, embarrassed.

"Hey, no problem. Sora'll be happy about this. You want me to give them to him, or do you want to give them to him yourself? Oh and you're welcome to stick around if you want." Riku said, trying to ease her nervousness. He knew that the woman was madly in love with Sora. In Riku's opinion, Olette would be really good for Sora. But that was only Riku's opinion. 

"Um…I…" She started, as if deciding what she should do.

"Come on in, really. We're having homemade pizza, it has some interesting toppings, but it should be alright." Riku said, ushering her into the hallway that lead to the family room. 

Upon entering the family room, Riku let out an embarrassed sigh. The room was in shambles. Popcorn littered the floor; DVD cases were open with their DVD's scattered over the couches. Pillows lay in odd places; one was even sitting in the unlit fireplace. 

"Olette! Hey and Hello!" Sora said from one of the couches. "You're just in time for chow." He said, giving her a grin. Olette smiled back and felt the pressure and nervousness lift from her shoulders. Sora didn't seem unnerved with her being here. In fact, he seemed perfectly all right with it.

"Olette, this is my friend Yuffie. Yuffie, this is Olette." Riku said, nodding in Yuffie's direction. Yuffie had a towel on her head and was busy rubbing it back and forth over her soaking hair. It was then that Riku noticed the bucket in Sora's arms. He grimaced when he noted the familiar lime green color. The lime bucket was the mop bucket. All the floors were washed using water from that bucket. Riku hadn't yet emptied the bucket from earlier use and knew that it was filthy water that was coating Yuffies shiny black hair. He instantly felt extreme pity for her, but was humored nonetheless by her appearance.

"Nice to meet you." Olette said, smiling in the girl's direction. Yuffie smiled back and then frowned as she pulled the soaking towel away from her hair. "Right back at you." She muttered, before throwing the towel at Sora's face. 

Riku frowned in annoyance and looked down at Olette who had an amused smile on her lips. "Well I guess you can stay in here with these crazy idiots, or you could go somewhere else…you're free to roam." Riku said, before turning to walk into the kitchen. "I'll be in here. If you need anything just ask."

"Thanks, I will." Olette said, smiling before he turned away. Riku smiled back and went to cleaning up the ingredients. Hearing the conversation from the other room, Riku knew that Olette had successfully joined in on their fun. Riku sighed and frowned a bit in sadness.

He always felt so apart from everyone else. He could never break into conversations and was often silent for fear of rejection. He had faced nothing but rejection when he had first moved here. It was so unlike his old island home. He was nothing here and Sora was everything.

After cleaning the countertop, the sliver haired man sat down in one of the island chairs and laid his head on his folded tattooed arms. Tomorrow was his birthday. He had tried to push the thought away, but was unsuccessful. It didn't help that Sora had circled the date on every calendar in the house. Each one sported in big letters 'Flamin' Duke hits 21'. 

Riku chuckled at the thought and the smiled sadly. Everything was so different. He could barely remember life before the past four years. It all seemed like a distant memory. Yet Riku knew it would soon be a reality.

He had been asked to go back to the islands and meet with a composer. It would be a wonderful experience, meeting such a famous and respected composer. Yet the fear Riku felt in returning to his old home was fierce. Riku was considering declining the offer. But then he would miss out on such a great experience. Saying he was stuck in the middle was an understatement.

Studying the vivid tattoos on his arms, Riku thought back to the day he had gotten his first tattoo. It was on his seventeenth birthday, and it was also the day he had picked up the worst habit he had ever had. Doing drugs. 

Now it was four years later. 12 tattoos, 6 piercings and 2 years of being clean, later. It was so ironic. 

Looking at his newest tattoo, Riku smiled. It was dedicated to his drug addiction. Breaking the habit that is. He had gotten it done the previous day. His cousin, Seifer, had specifically designed it for him and did it himself. It was a real piece of art, the tattoo was.

Riku lifted his head up from his arms when he felt his cell-phone vibrate in his pants pocket. 

"Hello?" He asked into the phone, already knowing who was on the other line.

"What's up man?" Riku said after a minute, standing up from the island chair. It was Seifer. He always seemed to call at around 6:55 PM as it was right then.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be there. Sora's going nuts about the whole thing." Riku said, chuckling into the phone. 

"Who's opening for you guys?" He asked after a moment. "Oh no, really? Shoot, they suck." 

"Well yeah, their fan-base is a bunch of pre-teens." The silver haired man muttered, peaking into the oven to look at his precious pizza.

"No doubt man, no doubt. Yo, so it's been determined and all. I could go back to the islands for the summer to work with that composer."

"Yeah but what about my job and everything?" Riku said frowning into the phone. He knew Seifer would approve of him going back to the islands. And it wasn't only because of the composer. Riku, however, was trying to think of every possible excuse not to go back to his home world.

"Well yeah…I know, but I like the feel of it all." Riku sighed in frustration. He shouldn't have even mentioned his job. He had all the money he could ever 

possibly want. Yet, he loved working for some reason. Lazy Seifer would never understand that part of him.

"Yeah okay, I'll think about it." Riku said after listening to his cousin's loud rant for a few minutes. 

"No, really, I'll consider it. I'm not playing around." The silver haired man rubbed his arm and glanced into the family room. The three other adults were busy laughing at some stupid comedy on the large flat screen TV. Riku sighed a little bit when a feeling of loneliness came over him. Turning away, he focused on getting his pizza out of the oven, while ignoring whatever Seifer was saying. 

"Oh okay, well talk to you later." Riku said, after hearing Seifer say good-bye on the phone, unaware that Riku hadn't been listening to anything he had been saying during the last part of the conversation.

Riku sighed and sat back down on the island chair, waiting for the pizza to cool. Glancing over at Sora's messenger bag, he noticed a piece of paper sticking out from the corner. Riku frowned at it and pulled it out, expecting to see one of the papers Sora had hidden from him the other day. To his surprise, it was a photograph.

Riku's heart dropped a little when he saw who was in the photograph. It was Sora from about four years ago and a red-haired girl. Sora was barely smiling in the picture, yet the girl held a very beautiful grin. 

Thoughts of his home world and his parents, his school and his old friends, came flooding back to Riku's mind in a rush. It was a painful feeling, remembering all of them. It hurt to think of his parents and it hurt to think of his home. Riku could barely remember his old school and his old home. All of his old memories had been clouded over by his new ones. 

Pushing those thoughts away, Riku studied the picture with a child's curiosity. The picture was taken in the courtyard area of the school. Riku could definitely remember that area, yet he didn't know why. As hard as he tried, Riku couldn't remember the name of the girl. She had been Sora's girlfriend for a few months. Riku remembered that they had been very close. 

Riku also remembered that he had somehow hurt the girl. A bet, a high school dance bet. He couldn't exactly remember what went down, but he did remember her crying while running away from the dance floor in a peach colored dress. 

Riku felt a pang of guilt as he studied the face of the girl. He had never apologized to her. He'd never said he was sorry. He owed her an apology, even though she probably wouldn't remember who he was. It could possibly be a benefit to going back to the islands, and then again it probably wasn't.

The silver haired man didn't know what to think about the whole situation. He didn't want to go back to the islands. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was scared. He wasn't who he used to be. Confident, strong, and obnoxious. He was quiet now, unsure about his feelings and others, he didn't trust easily because he couldn't trust himself. He didn't know how to communicate his 

feelings for he had never communicated them properly. He was often anxious, stressed, and socially awkward. 

Even if people remembered him they wouldn't remember him.

He was a shell of what he used to be. A good shell, as others would say, but he always felt empty and alone. Despite having a few close friends, he still felt as if he could not confide in anyone his true feelings. Sora wouldn't understand because he cared mostly for himself. Yuffie being positive most of the time couldn't comprehend his depressed feelings. Her answer to his problems was 'just be happy'. Riku knew that just 'being happy' was almost impossible. You had to have something to be happy _for_. And although Seifer had stayed by Riku the entire time of his drug addiction and made sure that he didn't get in trouble, he couldn't understand why his rich younger cousin was unhappy. To Seifer, Riku appeared to be almost selfish.

It seemed cruel, his life. God seemed to hate him. But Riku knew that he deserved it. It was merely the consequence for past mistakes. 

Yet, deep down, Riku held a tiny piece of pity for himself.

He didn't understand why it had to be so bad. He didn't understand why things couldn't change.

It was as if he was seeking forgiveness, and the only person who could forgive him was himself. 

However whenever he thought of this, a question lurked in the back of his conscious.

Was it possible to truly forgive someone you hate?

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I tried not to hate you, but you're really not that likeable. I sometimes wish I could kill you, but I'm not a murderer. I couldn't take your life, because everyone deserves to live. But I wish you were dead, I really do. Maybe someday you'll fall, and I won't be there to catch you. And I'll watch you scream as you plunge to the bottom. And guess what, it'll be like I murdered you. But not exactly. I won't kill you, but I won't save you. Can't you see my hatred now?

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A/N: Just wanted to thank my reviewers, I love you guys. : )

Until next time.

Peace.


	5. Shards of a Shattered Future

Hey there, It's been awhile since I've updated. Finals are here. Woo. So you know how much fun I'm having. Anyway, I'm really not motivated in writing right now, and I'm thinking I might put this on hiatus. I'm not motivated to do anything. I just want to be lazy and do nothing. I don't know why I feel this way. I'm probably just tired of school and will feel much better when the spring semester starts. Eh, why am I even writing this? There's no point.

I'll probably get around to updating this in a two weeks or so, I'll be done with finals then. Hopefully I'll be motivated to do it.

Anyway, here's a new chapter. Posted around 11:30 at night…I really need to go to sleep. So enjoy.

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I hate the secrets that I keep, I know they all are sin. I wish I didn't see him there, I wish I didn't see. I wish I didn't drink the poison, I wish I could've felt. I was too far gone, it didn't matter. But now it does. I can't tell you the truth, for it will kill my soul. I'd rather break my heart and die, and leave my soul to scream and cry.

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Secrets, shame and regret. Those three words seemed to haunt the blonde woman, following her and involving themselves in her life. Namine had always known trouble. She used to initiate it for the mere reason of having fun, however now it seemed like a curse. It wasn't like she was looking for it anymore for she stayed as far away from it as she could. But it always found her, and she always seemed to unwillingly embrace it. It was so aggravating, trouble was.

Namine knew she had ruined her future for certain. She had made a mistake, fell into trouble, and wouldn't get out with no strings attached. This problem, this trouble, would remain with her for the rest of her life. And she would be responsible for it. She would have to embrace it. For it was hers.

"Kairi, I need to talk to you like…now." Namine said into her cell-phone.

"Oh my gosh, are you in trouble?" Kairi said through the phone, concern evident in her voice.

"Not in the kind you think…but worse."

"I'll be over soon, don't do anything stupid." The red-head said before hanging up.

Namine sighed and laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling for the next thirty minutes.

Staring at the ceiling wasn't an activity the blonde girl normally found her self interested in. She didn't like the cracks in the ceiling where the old plaster had given away. It only reminded her of her current woeful situation. However today was different. Today the plaster was actually comforting. As she created shapes and faces in the lines and cracks of the plaster, she forgot about the horrible truth that had just been revealed to her today.

Namine wasn't one to hate herself, she wasn't very emotional and detested feeling any sort of self-pity. However, today she could only wallow in it. Shame, self-hatred, and helplessness was all she was feeling. Usually when 

she felt insecure or scared, she went to her boyfriend. He always made it better by simply holding her and telling her everything was going to be okay. But this time it wouldn't work. Because this problem, this trouble, involved him. It involved their future together.

Namine rose from the bed quickly when she heard a knock on her apartment door. Namine was always careful when answering doors, she didn't live in the best area and people, men mostly, where always trying to find ways to get inside the small apartment. She had had many instances where she had to threaten people away with the bat she kept near the door. Namine wasn't a wimp when it came to fighting and she would defend her property and herself in any way possible.

"You can open the door Namine, it's me Kairi."

Namine sighed a breath of relief and unlocked the three locks that kept the door from opening.

"Hey, thanks for coming." Namine said after she opened the door.

"No problem." Kairi said, giving her a small smile before following the blonde into the small living room.

"Do you want anything to drink…?" Namine asked, as Kairi plopped herself down onto the cream colored sofa.

"Um, water is good." Kairi said, noting the stressed out look on Namine's face. Something was really bothering her.

"Alright, be right back." Namine said before stepping into the small kitchen that barely two people could fit in. After getting two glasses of water, Namine walked back into the living room and sat down nervously.

"So I have a problem…" She started. "It's really bad, and I hope you won't think less of me when I tell you."

"Don't worry about that Namine, you know I wouldn't think less of you."

Namine nodded. "Okay then…" She started, before taking a deep breath.

It was only two words, but it meant so much more.

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"God I am so glad the semester is over…" Roxas's lazy friend said between sips of his 32 ounce slurpy.

"It wasn't that bad, Hayner." Roxas said rolling his eyes. "All of your classes were only 2 credits."

"Well yeah, but I had five classes." The other blonde said, eyes lighting up in annoyance.

"Hayner, your counselor had to talk to the dean of the school to let you slide with only 10 credits. That should say something, you're lazy."

"So what if I am, at least I'm not a science freak nerd god of the wimpy fossils."

Roxas raised his eyebrows before letting out a dry chuckle. "You never cease to amaze me with your pathetic come backs."

Hayner said nothing to this and took another sip of his drink. He didn't feel like searching his pretty much empty brain for a come-back. The previous semester had left him brain dead.

Roxas sighed and stared out over the skate park. He still loved skating, it was something he would never grow out of. He and Hayner often went down to the skate park on Sunday nights to practice or fool around. They were close, despite their differences.

Hanyer was a loudmouth, obnoxious, and was often in more trouble than he could handle. He was somewhat inconsiderate and crude, yet Roxas knew he had a soft spot. Hayner had come to the islands to attend the same university Roxas was attending. He was most definitely not a good student, and barely kept a C average. Most people considered Hayner to be dumb and lacking of knowledge. But Roxas knew otherwise. Hayner was a genius, yet he never used his amazing talent. He did this because he detested becoming like the rest of his family. College nerds. Hayner had always felt a need to belong, he'd been bullied when he was younger for being the class nerd and refused to repeat those years. Roxas felt sorry for him and tried to encourage him the best he could, but he knew that this was Hayner's problem and that only he himself could change his perspective on life.

"I wonder if she ever thinks of me…" Hayner said, after a moment. He was stirring his slurpy with his straw while staring out at the sinking sun.

Roxas looked at him with a knowing face. "Your Mom?"

"Yeah…"

Roxas had already known who he was talking about. Hayner hadn't talked to his mother since the beginning of his fall semester. They often argued and from the looks of it, they had gotten into an argument that ended in silence. Hayner wasn't close to his mother, he had grown up under his father's roof, rarely ever talking to the women. She had left them when he was a baby, his father was an eccentric young man who was always inventing, always looking for ways to better the world. His mother couldn't handle going in and out of poverty, and she was too young to have a child for she was barely an adult herself.

"I know she does…you're her kid." Roxas stated, stirring his smoothie.

Hayner looked at Roxas for a second before turning back to watching the sun. "That doesn't mean she loves me."

Roxas nodded in understanding. Hayner had had an interesting childhood. His father's inventions had finally been brought to the light when he was around five years old. They had more money than they could ever want. At age ten his father married a woman who had three sons of her own. Hayner loved his step brothers, yet could never find a connection with his step-mother. He had often found himself sad and angry when he saw the love and care his step-mother gave his step-brothers. The motherly love was something he had always wanted and was always curious about.

"I understand." Roxas said after a couple of minutes.

Hayner turned to him and gave a rare smile. "Thanks man." The words helped the younger blonde, even though they did nothing to change his situation.

Roxas finished off his smoothie and through it into a nearby trash bin. "Lets hit these ramps man, make these little punks know who owns this place." He said, grabbing his board.

Hayner smirked and quickly grabbed his before following the other blonde down to skate ramps.

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"Guys come on, get off already."

Hayner and Roxas rolled their eyes at the words of the boy on the sidelines and stopped showing off to the newbie skateboarders.

"'Sup Pence." Roxas said, walking over to the short chubby teen on the sidelines.

"Hey." Pence said, opting to nod to Hayner instead of greet him. Hayner rarely greeted anyone back.

"Your girlfriend just called me, she said she couldn't reach you on your phone." Pence said, sitting down on one of the benches.

Roxas raised his eyebrows in worry. If Namine couldn't reach him on his cell phone, she usually just waited until later to call him.

"She's on right now." Pence said, handing Roxas his phone.

"Namine?" Roxas said into the phone.

"Hey…are you busy?" Came Namine's tired voice.

"Um…" He said, looking at Hayner and Pence. They shrugged their shoulders before walking off to talk to a group of girls nearby.

"No, no I'm not." Roxas said, after they left. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…I mean no, I need to talk to you about something."

Roxas frowned and felt his heartbeat. He prayed that Namine wasn't considered breaking up with him. He hadn't seen any signs, however, she did seem to be hiding something lately.

"I'll be there in a few." Roxas said, closing the cell-phone. He looked around for a second, trying to locate Hayner and Pence when he saw a flash of green and blue run past him. Roxas frowned as he watched Hayner run laughing towards the bench with a sluggish Pence who was gasping for breath right behind him.

"God Roxas you should have been there." Hayner said, slamming himself down on the bench. "We totally screwed up with those girls."

Pence chuckled. "Yeah, we were like messin' around…making fun of their wimpy skinny jean wearing boyfriends…"

Hayner smirked and then started chuckling. "Yeah, turns out we were like…really wrong. They were these really tough small headed dudes. Yo, and they were all wearing wife beaters. Pence almost got his ass beat."

"What the heck?" Pence said, growing red with annoyance. "You were the one that squealed like a girl."

"Yeah, in a very manly way. Remember that. Manly." Hayner shot back, silently daring the chubby boy to say another word.

Roxas rolled his eyes at the younger two and tossed Pence his cell phone. "You idiots, I'll see you later."

Roxas pulled out his keys as he approached his beloved mustang. He couldn't help but feel uneasy about what Namine had to tell him. He refused to think it was something bad. However he knew it probably was.

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"Hey, come in." Namine said quietly, opening her door. Kairi had left a few minutes before so the apartment was empty.

Namine still had red eyes from pouring out her grief with her best friend. Kairi had only listened, never giving her opinion or showing negative emotion. It had helped Namine greatly, especially her words of encouragement. Yet, now she felt as if she were going to fall apart once again.

"Namine, your eyes." Roxas said softly, touching her cheek. "What's wrong ?" He asked, hugging her close.

"I…" Namine started, feeling oddly uncomfortable in his arms. She knew she was probably never going to be in them again after what she was going to say. Pulling away, she turned and took a seat on the couch. Roxas frowned, feeling slightly rejected, and sat in the chair opposite of the couch.

"I…I have to tell you something, a-and…I know you're going to hate me for this."

"I won't-" Roxas started, but was stopped when Namine held up her hand.

"No. Don't say anything…" Namine sighed, took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I'm pregnant, Roxas."

The room was silent for several minutes. Namine couldn't bring herself to look up at her boyfriend and Roxas couldn't bring himself to look away from the woman who had just then broken his heart into millions of pieces.

It wasn't Roxas's baby. He knew that. The two had decided that they would save it for marriage. Yet all of that meant nothing now. Marriage meant nothing now. Because Roxas meant nothing now.

"I-I see…" Roxas said, standing up slowly.

"Roxas, please don't hate me…" Namine said softly, tears coming to her eyes.

Roxas only frowned. The shock of the statement had worn off and now all that was left was anger and hurt.

Roxas turned and headed for the door. He didn't look at Namine, he didn't want to ever look at her again.

He had never once ignored Namine when she called out to him. Even in their worst arguments, he had never walked away when she was talking to him. He never turned his back on her.

Yet today it was different. Their four year bond was broken and so were two hearts.

And it felt almost right, as he left. It felt okay to leave the blonde girl, crying and begging for him to come back. And it felt good to delete her phone number and erase any trace of her in his apartment. It felt okay to hate her, to detest her.

But it didn't feel alright.

And it wouldn't feel alright.

Because his heart didn't feel right. Because everything was broken, and it wasn't his fault. He couldn't put the pieces back together and he couldn't fix the situation.

_Because it wasn't his fault. _

So the ring in his closet would sit gathering dust. But it wouldn't be forgotten. It couldn't be forgotten.

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And will you tell me again that I'm dreaming. And that this news is just a lie. We all dream of happiness and feeling special. You drew your hearts so big, and I loved them. I gave you mine, because you gave me yours. You said you cherished it, you'd never do it harm. You placed it in your box and told me it was safe. So why did you drop it and let it break?

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There we go. Namine has issues…yes. Review please, I love them.

Until next time.

Peace.


	6. Memories of Me and You

"From the start, Kairi

A/N: Hey hey, back with a new chapter. Hope you like. I actually like it for some reason. I wrote it in a rush because I'm kind of tired. I don't feel like writing at the moment, but I wanted to write this badly for some reason.

This chapter is dedicated to one of my reviewers, AlantieMistaniu. I just felt like I should dedicate a chapter or two some of the coolest people on this site. She's been reviewing since my first story and I really appreciate her reviews. So that's why I want to dedicate this chapter to her. Thanks Alantie!

Now, on to the chapter.

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And just like the sun shines, I want to shine too. It's kind of silly but I think it feels alright. I'm not afraid to be here. I just want to prove it to the world. If you understand me then thanks for looking deeper. I think I'm kind of pretty when you're here by my side.

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"From the start, Kairi."

Kairi sighed and sat down on the chair behind her. She rubbed her forehead in frustration. Her instructor knew she was under stress. He knew it the minute she walked in the door, mouth turned down in a frown and weariness in her movements.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, setting down his piano notes and turning to face his distressed student.

"I'm just tired." Kairi said, looking up at him with a weak smile.

"I know you, Kairi, I can tell that it is something else." The man said, studying his young student.

Kairi sighed and rubbed her arm. She didn't feel like tell him her troubles. She wanted to finish this session so she could go home and be alone. That's all she really wanted at the moment.

Her instructor noted this and stood up. "We're finished for the day, go home now."

Kairi looked up quickly and blushed. "I didn't mean to make you mad…" She said trailing off. She didn't want to jeopardize her lessons with the skilled instructor. It had taken her months to build a relationship with him. A relationship that didn't involve yelling, anger, and hurt feelings. He wasn't a friendly man by nature, and Kairi wasn't used to being around someone who was usually grumpy all of the time.

"It's fine, I can see you need a break. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, giving a small smile to reassure the red-head.

Kairi nodded and grabbed her messenger bag. Walking outside the old but beautiful studio, she took a deep breath of the fresh air in hope that it would calm her nerves. She'd suspected that something was going to go wrong this summer. The feeling was all too strong. Kairi couldn't help but feel somewhat hurt by Namine's actions, even though they had nothing to do with her. It was a tough spot to be in; stuck between anger and sympathy.

Namine and Roxas hadn't spoken to each other since they day Namine had told Roxas about her pregnancy. It had been two days since then. Usually, the two would have made up by then. But Kairi knew that this was different. There would probably be no making up in this situation. The mere idea of Namine and Roxas not being together made her heart hurt. After four years of being together, everyone who knew them expected them to marry. They were the ideal couple.

"What's up Kairi?" A voice said, breaking into Kairi's deep thoughts. Kairi looked up and smiled at her friend. He was a nice distraction from her thoughts.

"Hey Pence." Kairi said, hugging the chubby teen. Pence was one of the few people Kairi knew that was her own age. It was kind of nice being with the college freshman because Kairi never felt like a baby when she was with him.

"You ready to go?" Pence asked, giving her one of his childish smiles. Kairi had promised to help Pence buy a gift for his mother for her upcoming birthday. Pence was a horrible gift buyer and had no idea what the female sex preferred to have or would actually use.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Kairi said, walking down the sidewalk. The mall was only a few blocks away from the studio and Kairi wanted to enjoy the cool weather and also get some exercise. Pence on the other hand, always preferred the car.

"Oh come on Kairi, let's just take the car."

Kairi giggled at his childish antics and rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Pence. You need the exercise."

"I know…" Pence grumbled, jogging to catch up with her. "But I don't want to work out right now…I'll be all sweaty…and the ladies will be disgusted."

Kairi frowned and sped up her walking to annoy him. "We're buying a present for your mother. You'll be talking to no 'ladies' today."

Upon reaching the mall, Kairi and Pence went in and out of several stores for no exact reason. Pence was merely following Kairi, and Kairi was checking out the sales in the stores before they really got down to business.

About an hour and four soft pretzels later, Kairi and Pence finally got around to searching for the gift.

"Let's check out this store." Kairi said, heading towards a huge expensive designers store.

"Kairi this place is way too expensive." Pence said looking around. It was a very high-end store. It seemed to have rich labeled on every item. Pence picked up t-shirt in one of the sections and gasped when he saw the price.

"Kairi this shirt costs 100 fricken bucks!" He said a little too loudly. The employees glanced up at him and rolled their eyes. Several customers in the store did the same. Pence blushed and called over to Kairi asking her if they could go.

Kairi however didn't hear him; she was looking curiously over towards the front of the store where a decent sized group of people were.

"Hey Pence, I wonder what they're doing." Kairi said, walking over to the group of people. It was mostly girls, rich girls, and they were all squealing in delight. To Kairi's dismay, Selphie was one of them.

"Oh my god he is so hot!" One of the girls exclaimed. Another girl squealed at this comment causing the employees to look up once again in annoyance.

"Shut up, Ariel. He is all mine." Selphie said, punching the girl in the arm in a not-so-playful matter.

Kairi moved to the edge of the crowd to see what the girls were talking about and gasped in surprise. Memories of her first boyfriend flooded back to her making her feel sad yet happy at the same time. She could barely recognize him, he was so different. He seemed so…shallow.

As expected by many, Sora's new clothing line was a hit. He had the talent and the skill and he used them well. His designs sold quickly and girls often fought over several of his items in the store because of limited supply. As design company's put it, that's what made them come back. The little the better.

Sora's line had just been made available on the island, despite his clothing line being around for about a year. The girls were ecstatic and already the clothes had sold out like that. Even the girls with no money had found a way to get even the smallest piece of 'Sora-line' jewelry into their hands.

From the dozens of pictures of models featuring his clothes, Kairi could tell that his line was very outlandish. It was full of crazy, yet intriguing designs ranging from bright neon to dark gothic. Kairi found that she couldn't label Sora's clothes. It was merely…Sora.

Kairi reverted her attention back to the picture of Sora. It was a black and white picture and it made him like oh-so-mature. He was wearing aviator sunglasses that shielded his eyes, yet Kairi could easily tell it was him because of his wild chocolate spikes. He'd grown a lot taller over the years, and he was extremely fit. Kairi blushed as she realized she was staring a bit too intently at his lean, but well built body.

"Look here girls, Sora is so mine and I'm the only one here he would actually consider." Selphie said, her voice breaking into Kairi's thoughts. Kairi glanced over at her and frowned in annoyance. Kairi knew Selphie didn't remember Sora, and it only made her more upset. She was so aggravating at times. Selphie had thought Sora unattractive before and had completely ignored him when they were younger. But now that he was some rich designer he had her whole attention.

"It's so unfair." One of the girls said exasperated, "That chick over there got the last fedora. I swear I'm going to rip out her hair!"

Kairi rolled her eyes at this comment but glanced over to the girl the other girl was pointing at.

Kairi couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. In the girls hand was a fedora. It was pink and had purple polka dots on it. Her smiled widened when she recalled something she had almost forgotten about.

_Kairi giggled and dumped another packet of sugar into her coffee. "How do I look?" She asked putting on a model's face and then giggling once again._

"_As good as you can look wearing a black fedora with a peach dress." Sora answered, his lips turning up slightly at the red head that currently had his fedora on her head._

"_I'm gonna seriously have to go and buy one of these, only mine will be pink…oooh, with purple polka dots."_

"_Charming." Sora said dryly._

"Kairi, come on." Pence said, dragging her away from the group of girls. Kairi nodded but turned back for one last glance at her past boyfriend. She hated the feeling that came over her when she did. She hated missing him, wanting to talk to him. The feeling of wanting to know if he ever thought of her, and the feeling of regret.

She didn't like that feeling. But she couldn't help but enjoy it.

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Kairi felt as if she were going insane. Ever since seeing the picture of Sora earlier on in the day, everything she did and saw reminded her of him. When she arrived home from shopping, she felt a sense of happiness as she approached her porch for some reason. Then it came to her.

"_I'm sorry I made you late…I hope I won't get you in any trouble." Kairi said as they walked up to her door._

"_It's ok, really." Sora said quietly as they approached her door. "I better go before one of your family members sees me." Sora said chuckling. "I'd probably scare the shit out of them."_

_Kairi giggled and watched as he started walking back to the car. "Oh, I forgot to give this back to you." Kairi called out taking off the fedora she had grown quite comfortable in._

_Sora looked up and shook his head. "You can keep it. Paint it pink and put purple polka dots on it."_

_Kairi giggled once again. "Hey Sora?" She called softly to the boy who again stopped in his tracks._

"_Yeah?" Sora asked turning back to face the girl in the pretty peach dress._

"_Thanks…thanks for taking me out." Kairi said shyly._

Kairi blushed at the memory and quickly put out of her mind. There was no use in remembering those times. They were long over and Sora was no longer in her life. Yet she couldn't help it. Her mind kept going back to him. Heading into the empty house, Kairi sighed and went to pour herself a glass of orange juice. Her mother and her step-dad weren't home, as usual. Her older step-sister had moved out a year ago and her younger step-siblings were with their mom for the summer. It was quiet, and Kairi liked it.

Entering the back room that had been re-created as a second office, Kairi sat down at the computer to check for any e-mails from her prospective college. Kairi was hoping to get a scholarship to the school she was planning on attending and the college was to notify her when they made their decision about it.

Kairi leaned back in her chair after her checking her messages and sighed. Looking around the room Kairi felt another sense of happiness as another forgotten memory came to her.

"_Hey Sora?" Kairi said quietly._

"_Yeah?" Sora said looking up at her tiredly._

"_You look cute." She stated, blushing in spite of herself. _

_Sora blushed and ducked his head. "Well that's a first….thanks."_

Kairi closed her eyes and smiled. She felt a small sense of longing grow inside of her. A longing for the time when she felt so in love that her heart hurt. In a good way of course. Being with Tidus was also a wonderful time in her life. But it couldn't compare. It could never compare. That was one reason why Kairi had ended it. She didn't think it was fair for him to be second in her book.

Kairi stood up abruptly, shaking the thoughts away as she exited the room. She wanted the memories to go away. So she could be in peace. She hated wanting things. She hated wanting anything.

She hated wanting what she knew she couldn't have.

Walking out her door Kairi went nowhere. She just walked while fighting herself in her mind. Fighting her feelings for her past boyfriend. Fighting her feelings of want. Before she knew it she ended up on the beach, right where it had started.

"_Kairi…?" Sora said, looking down at the red head in his arms._

"_Hmm?" Kairi said absentmindedly playing with her necklace._

"_I…you shouldn't like me." Sora started. "I've done things that are…unforgivable."_

"_I told you Sora…whatever you've done, just let it go. Start over." Kairi said, sitting up._

Where it had continued.

"_Stop it Sora, your making me laugh." She said between giggles._

"_More like giggle…you're weak at this Kairi."_

"_Oh shut up you buffoon." The red head said, poking his nose playfully._

"_Buffoon?" Sora said smiling, playing with a strand of Kairi's dark red hair._

"_Eh, it was the first thing that came to mind." Kairi said sighing. "You know, you're really cute without your make-up."_

"_I feel nude without it." Sora muttered, wiping his eyes. He indeed didn't have any on._

"_I like the eye-liner…" Kairi said looking up at the ceiling. "Though it looks horrible on me."_

"_That's because you don't need it, Kai-Kai." The chocolate haired teen said before kissing her on the forehead._

And where it had ended.

"_You're going to move on, Sora."_

"_Huh?" Sora said looking down at her. "What do you mean?"_

"_Don't be silly. Today's the end of us, we both know that." Kairi stated firmly, despite the fact that inside she was breaking down._

"_I know." He said quietly, "I just wish…I wish it didn't have to be this way."_

"_Me too." Kairi said sighing, tears coming back to her eyes. "You were the first person at this school…who didn't backstab me or…hate me for no reason. It's hard to lose…your best friend." She said softly._

_Sora couldn't help it. A single tiny tear made it's why out of his eye and landed right on Kairi's nose. Kairi looked up and couldn't help but giggle despite the fact._

"_I didn't mean to make you cry, Sora." She said after giggling._

"_Oh Kairi…" Sora just sighed, giving her a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you so much."_

_Kairi smiled and let the tears slip down her face once again. "I'm going to miss you too." She said hugging him._

Before Kairi could stop herself, she said what was on her mind out loud to no one but herself.

"I still miss you Sora…" Were the whispered words. And she hated it. She hated this feeling. It felt like she was 14 again, wanting him back in her life and knowing he wasn't coming back.

It was a cruel feeling. Nothing more and nothing less.

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And like all memories, they hold a place in my heart. I wish to god sometimes I could fall down and forget. But that's almost like committing suicide. To forget about those who made my life would kill me. Because in reality I have nothing without my loved ones. And I am nothing without you.

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So I hope you liked it. Review please!

Until next time.

Peace


	7. Hidden Feelings and Indecision

A/N: Well it's been about a month since updating. That's a lot of time. I have reasons for not updating though. One being my rigorous spring semester. It's tough I tell you. The classes are so hard because they're shorter than fall and winter semesters.

The second thing is basically lack of motivation and annoyance with certain people on this site. I usually don't get annoyed with my reviewers, because I love you guys. However, lately, certain people have been making me extremely mad…and when I'm mad, I really shouldn't write. It would all sound angry. But moving on, hopefully all will go well with this chapter and people will like it. So yeah, enjoy. :)

xXx

When the sun sets, let me know. You and I have things to do. And maybe when we see the stars we'll realize how small we really are. We both hate the feeling but it kind of feels surreal. And when you scream and let loose your hate, I'll tell you I love you. I know I'm blind. But I really just can't see. I only want to know why you did this to me.

xXx

Sometimes the mind draws a blank. It doesn't know what to think, what to do, or what to say. The mind doesn't always know how to say something, how to write something, how to accomplish something. It is merely sitting there, jumping from idea to idea with no sense of decision coming through.

Riku's mind didn't tend to do this to him. He knew what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. He knew what he wanted. At least that was what he told himself. Deep down, he never knew.

The silver-haired man found himself in a nasty predicament as he sat at his desk, laptop in front of him. On the screen of the computer was e-mail. It had no subject, but it had an address. It had no message, but it had a signature. It was blank, and Riku's mind couldn't make up its mind. He simply didn't know which way to go; what path to choose.

"I thought you sent that e-mail a while ago." A quiet voice interrupted Riku's thoughts on indecision.

"I've kind of been re-writing it." Riku said, turning to look at his roommate. Sora nodded and sat down on the leather couch across from the desk. Riku raised an eyebrow at Sora's unusual quietness.

"Something wrong?" He asked after a moment.

"No." Was the brunette's simple reply. "Me and Charlotte broke up, but it's not a big deal."

Riku rolled his eyes and turned completely in his seat to face the obviously depressed designer. It was then when he noticed the large bruise in the shape of a hand on Sora's face.

"Gods Sora what the hell did she do to you?!" He asked, visually inspecting the nasty bruise.

"She got mad. I told her our relationship was moving too fast." Sora answered while rubbing his injured cheek in self-pity.

"Was she…drunk or something?" Riku asked after a moment. Both Riku and Sora had just gotten back from going clubbing and Sora's girlfriend, who was a year older than him, often got comfortable with the large rounds of liquor. However, Riku knew that she wasn't the only one that made friends with the addicting drinks. Sora was notorious for his underage drinking. No one dared stop him from drinking the several shots of liquor he often had. Not even the bartender. Riku had come to notice however that Sora gave extremely large tips. Putting two and two together the whole picture was clear to see.

"No…just angry." Sora answered, rubbing his arm. "I think it's for the best...us breaking up."

Riku nodded, smiling to himself. "I think so too…she only seemed to be out for your money."

Sora glanced up and scowled. "Well thanks for telling me that now."

"Hey, I wanted to stay out of your relationship. You always got mad when I brought up something I didn't like about her."

Sora glared at Riku trying to think of something smart to say but looked away after a moment. It wasn't worth it. Besides, Riku was telling the truth. Sora was as they say 'blinded by love' when he met Charlotte. However Riku knew from the start that she was trouble, and he'd told Sora countless times. But Sora was stubborn. It was in his nature.

"Well you were right about her." Sora said after a minute, letting go of his pride to give Riku his credit on the subject of their relationship. "That's all she wanted."

Riku felt his heart twinge in both sympathy and happiness for the brunette. He didn't like seeing the hyper brunette upset. In fact, he didn't like seeing anyone upset. However, it had been so long since Sora had been real with him. He was always so obnoxious, careless and prideful. It was nice seeing a side of him that Riku had thought he'd lost four years ago.

"It's kind of hard…you know? When someone you really, really like…tells you to your face that they don't like you back." Sora said softly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "And it hurts even more when someone you really, really like…pretends to like you for something you have, and when they can't have it…they tear you apart."

Riku nodded, fully understanding what his roommate felt like. It was a horrible feeling indeed to love someone and not have that love returned. To have put your heart in someone's hands only for them to shatter it. Riku could remember countless times he had told girls he liked them. He'd been infatuated with several of them, just dying to get to know them. And he'd tell them, his heart racing and his palms clenched; fearing rejection. And then the girls would look at him and 

smile, and he'd hope for the best. _"You're just not my type." "I want someone…different." "You're sweet but…"_ They were all familiar phrases to Riku. And they all meant the same thing: You are not important to me.

However, Sora's situation was slightly different. Riku couldn't exactly relate to the feeling of being cheated because he never had been cheated on. Sora's girlfriend hadn't cheated with another man, but she had cheated his heart. She had made him believe he was special to get to his money. She had 'loved' him to get to his money. And Riku knew that that had to hurt much more than a simple rejection.

"Are you going to accept that or what?" Sora asked, interrupting Riku from his wandering thoughts.

"I…no, I don't think so." Riku said, turning back to his blank e-mail.

"Why not?" Sora asked, pushing the thoughts of his ex-girlfriend out of his mind.

"Lots of things…" Riku started, biting his lip. "Mom will be released from prison in about a month…"

Sora was silent for some time, thinking back to the horrible days he endured living with Riku's parents. He didn't like thinking about those days. He didn't like thinking about his foster-parents. He hated them. And he had a right to. But the old Sora, the considerate Sora, came back to him when he said a simple sentence to Riku.

"Maybe…maybe she's changed."

Riku raised an eyebrow in surprise. He'd expected Sora to get angry and start yelling and hollering about how much he hated her. Sora was acting so much like his old self that Riku was starting to feel déjà-vu.

"Sora did you drink something tonight?" Riku asked, scrutinizing his best friend. Sora scowled at him and chucked a random notebook at the silver-haired man.

"I can act sensitive at times, Riku." He huffed, picking up a book on the coffee table. "What is this?"

"Just a photo album. I was cleaning out some of the stuff we never unpacked." Riku said, glancing at the book in Sora's hands.

Sora flipped open the book and felt his eyes instantly mist up when he saw a picture of him when he was little. The picture was taken when he was at the foster care agency. It showed him drawing something, mouth set in a firm line, while a small blond girl beamed into the camera.

"Namine…" Sora whispered, tracing the picture with his index finger.

"Huh?" Riku said, leaning to look at what Sora was so intently staring at. "Oh wow is that…is that…Namine?" Riku asked, noticing how much the girl looked like one of his past crushes.

"Yeah…we knew each other…before." Sora said, looking up at Riku before looking down again. "I wonder where she is…"

The room was silent for a few minutes as both Riku and Sora were lost in their own thoughts about the pretty blonde they used to know. Riku felt a pang of guilt as he remembered how he'd treated her when he found out about her sudden loss of money.

_"Hey...um, Riku...can I talk to you for a second?" Namine asked shyly blushing in shame._

_"Um...I think not."_

_"Please...it's important."_

_"Why are you being so...humble?" Riku prodded, smirking evilly._

_"...Riku please not now...I...just hear me out."_

_"...Mmm, probably coming here to ask me for that money you lended me to fix the dent in my dad's car back, huh? Is it because you and your mom got kicked out huh?"_

_"Riku...that's not-"_

_"Oh I saw it all, your freaky bipolar mother got you two kicked out, huh? Now you're dirt poor."_

_"Riku...why are you being so mean to me...?"_

_"Look...if you thought we had something...you are dead wrong." Riku stated smirking. He was catching the attention of half of the cafeteria, and the snickers and smirks were growing. Oh he loved humiliating people._

_"Ok...ok then...I'm gonna leave you 'lone."_

_"Awww, is the accent comin' back to ya?" Riku mocked, mimicking her accent. The cafeteria cackled loudly. All of Namine's friends turning against her._

_"...I'm gonna see you later now...bye." _

He'd never apologized to her. Yet another person Riku had hurt and hadn't apologized too. Riku immediately assumed that if he went back to t he islands everyone would hate him. He'd been so cruel when he was younger and highly doubted that they would give him another chance.

Sora on the other hand felt a sense of sadness and happiness at the same time. He thought back to the time right before he left the islands. Namine had approached him with an apology. He could still remember her exact words before they parted.

"_I know…its stupid saying this because you're leaving but…I hope that…we can be something different, if only just for peace between us."_

"_Looks like we've got it right now." Sora said with a small smile. "We're not fighting and well…it kind of feels like old times."_

_Namine smiled brightly and played with the hem of her white dress. "Are you going to come back?" She asked after a moment. "I would hate to have had this conversation and then never see you again."_

"_Yes, I'm going to come back…someday, I will." He said, standing up. "I promise."_

_Namine smiled and nodded. "Good, I'll be seeing you later then."_

"_Yeah, see you Nami." _

Sora brushed the memory away with a feeling of nostalgia for a small part of his home. He flipped the page again only to flip it quickly and close the book.

"What's the matter?" Riku asked, looking at Sora.

"Nothing." Sora muttered, tossing the book to the side. Riku immediately scooped it up and flipped to the page Sora had turned from. Sora tried to snatch the album away but Riku had always been the quicker of the two.

Riku studied the picture of Sora and the petite red-head standing next to him. They looked happy together. _Very_ happy together.

"Her name…what was it?" Riku asked, looking up at Sora who refused to make eye-contact with him.

"…Kairi." He answered, after a few seconds of silence. "Her name was Kairi."

"Kairi…" Riku said to himself, memories flooding back to him of the day he'd humiliated Kairi at the prom.

_What are you doing staring, freak." Selphie yelled glaring at Kairi angrily._

"_I…I…what are you doing in the arms of my date?" Kairi asked quietly unfortunately noticing that half the school was watching._

"_Your date? Ex-c-use me but Riku asked me out earlier today." Selphie said matter of factly. The crowd started buzzing with interest as their little 'show' started._

"_W-what…Riku asked me out l-last week." Kairi said barely above a whisper._

"_Well obviously he had second thoughts. Who would date you?" Selphie said smirking. "You're just a shy stupid little nerd."_

"_T-then…why'd he ask me out? There m-must be something good about me." Kairi said biting her lips. _

"_Because Kairi, it was a bet…heh, and looks like I won guys." Riku said laughingly as his friends fished out their wallets and handed him the owed money. Kairi's mouth fell open slightly and tears came rushing to her face as she saw the green paper money being laid in the palm of Riku's hand_

"_W-why…?" Kairi asked backing away from the laughing crowd._

"_Because Kairi…you were just so worth it." _

"If you're wondering, she means nothing to me now." Sora said almost bitterly. Riku looked at him and frowned, closing the album.

"You still consider her a friend, right?" He asked, curious at why Sora seemed so angry at the girl. She'd done nothing wrong to him.

"I broke off all relations with her for a reason, Riku. She means nothing to me."

Riku studied Sora's angry face. He knew Sora was lying. He could always tell when he was lying. They knew each other so well now that neither of them could hide their real emotions from the other, as hard as they might try.

"Or maybe she does, but because she reminds you of…past hurt…you deny your feelings of even friendship."

"You don't know what I think and feel, Riku. Leave me alone about her." Sora said stiffly, refusing to look at Riku.

"And here I thought you were acting like your old self. You didn't used to dislike people for no reason."

"I don't dislike her!" Sora snapped, sitting up straight. "I just don't…" He trailed off, not finishing his sentence. Riku turned away from the brunette and looked back at the blank e-mail on the screen.

"I'm going to e-mail him…tell him I'm not coming." Riku said, starting to type. The two men spent the next ten minutes in silence; the only sound in the room coming from the keyboard.

Sora played with the bottom of his shirt and sighed. "You should go…" He said after a moment. Riku didn't answer him but stopped typing. He stared at the message on the screen, the lines of words blurring into a black and white mess.

"You should go because it's a once in a lifetime chance to meet that composer. And…you should go…because well, that's your home. My home. So if it'll help any, I'll come with you."

The room was silent as Riku stared at the screen showing no reaction to Sora's words. Sora was about to drop the idea when Riku finally spoke up.

"What about your job…?" He asked.

Sora let out a small smile. He knew that meant a yes. He knew that meant Riku agreed. And he knew that meant they were going to the islands for the summer.

"I'll take a vacation. Olette can come with us, I'm sure she would enjoy seeing the islands."

Riku smirked and turned back to the computer, erasing what he had written. "That's nice of you…to finally think about Olette other than trying to think of ways for her to do your work."

Sora chuckled and threw a random bouncy ball at Riku's head. "I'm a considerate guy…sometimes."

Riku let out a small laugh and turned to start typing away once again. "We leave in two days then, Sora." He stated not looking away from his message.

"The hell?!" Sora yelled, quickly sitting up from his reclining position. "Crap, I've got so much to pack…I need a smoke."

Riku jerked around just in time to snatch the pack of cigarettes out of Sora's hand. "You're trying to quit, remember?" He said, crushing the pack in his fist to Sora's dismay.

"Ugh, I know…but it's so hard." Sora whined, falling back on the couch.

"Just keep at it, don't give up." Riku said knowingly. Hell, he knew what it felt like to be addicted to something. He'd spent two years of his life dependent on drugs. It was a horrible feeling, doing drugs, but it was much more horrible being without them.

Riku sighed as he thought about Sora's ordeal since coming to the busy world they lived in. He'd changed almost instantly from a quiet goth to a loud boisterous urban youth. Riku had to give the brunette credit, he was a great actor. Sora had studied so many people back on the islands. He'd drawn them in his notebook, capturing each emotion perfectly. He knew his former students without even talking to him. That's why it was so easy for him to completely change himself. He 

knew emotions and he knew which ones to play and which ones to save. He could put together personalities and implement them without even trying. It almost seemed evil, but it was just Sora.

However, everyone needed something that gave them peace. Even Sora. And while Riku had turned to drugs, Sora had more discreetly taken to smoking. Both of the boys had been through a lot and neither had an appropriate outlet, family, that would help them through their problems.

Sora had first taken to smoking when he couldn't find anything to calm him down when he experienced anxiety. Sora hid it well, but he still suffered from Acute Stress Disorder. He still took pills to help with the anxiety and panic attacks and from what the doctor had said, he probably always would.

Riku on the other hand had taken to drugs. His reason was for many things. Loneliness, despair, guilt, and his new found social anxiety problems. Riku had never before had trouble communicating with people albeit he was mostly always cruel when he did it. Upon coming to the busy world he had made a choice to change his ways. But because he had no examples to follow, Riku didn't know how to act. He simply didn't understand how to make friends by being friendly and not by bulling. Riku had believed he was destined to be alone when Yuffie came along. Yuffie had seen something in him; something Riku couldn't even see himself. And she worked hard at helping him to open up. She was his mental coach while he worked through the long days at rehab, his body screaming for drugs while his mind kept telling him no.

It was Yuffie who had first introduced him to his former music instructor. The old grumpy man had annoyed Riku at first. He had made him angry and upset. But as time passed and as he picked up the music, he grew fond of the man. He was like a father to him; the father he didn't have.

Riku remembered spending long hours in his room at the rehab center, violin in hand and arm red with swats from the strict old man's orchestra stick. He only expected the best from Riku because he knew Riku was the best. He had faith in the troubled teen and he knew he was special, even though Riku always denied it.

The old man wasn't just a music teacher. In fact, he _wasn't _a music teacher. He was score writer who was greatly known for his deep melodic sounds. He had won many awards for his music yet he was not proud. He was Yuffie's great uncle, yet he treated Riku like a son.

On the day of his death he entitled Riku to his music. He gave him his private scores, ones he had never published, and told Riku to re-do them in his own style. He gave him his large, beautiful estate in a town called Twilight Town, and he gave him his most important documents: his most prized scores. Those seven scores were supposed to be part of the upcoming movie Riku was now working on. However the old man knew he was to die before he could complete his work. That's why he gave it to Riku to finish. Riku was to take his place, the man made sure 

of that. Just his word on the matter opened up several doors for Riku, and for the first time in years he felt like he could something special with his life.

Riku had been working on the scores for the past two years. Studying them, fixing them, making the brilliant. It was tough, but it was worth it.

"I'm going to bed." Sora said yawning while standing up. "See-ya tomorrow." He muttered, walking off in the direction of his bedroom. Unbeknownst to Riku, Sora had quietly picked up the photo album on the way out.

Upon reaching his room, Sora sat on his bed and opened the small album to the page he had previously skipped over. Looking down at the image, he allowed himself a small smile as he remembered the time he spent with the pretty red-head.

"_It's beautiful…the sunset." She said, intertwining her and Sora's fingers._

"_Heh, you know how stupid, corny, and overused it is but," Sora started, "It's not as beautiful as you are."_

_Kairi giggled and shoved Sora before she settled back down and laid her head back on his shoulder._

"_You think I'm beautiful?" She asked, looking up into his dark blue eyes._

"_Why wouldn't I?" Sora answered her question with his one. He gave her a quick peck on her nose and smiled when she blushed a deep shade of red._

_Kairi smiled again but then frowned. "You're going to move on, Sora."_

"_Huh?" Sora said looking down at her. "What do you mean?"_

"_Don't be silly. Today's the end of us, we both know that." _

Sora sighed and shut the album, placing it on the table next to his bed. He kicked off his socks and turned out the light before burying himself deep in soft covers. Closing his eyes he thought about his home and who he'd left behind.

"I wonder where you are Kairi…I wonder how you're doing." He said out-loud, not minding if he sounded stupid. "But I don't care for you…not like that." He finished, being honest with himself. There were no lies in his heart.

And with that he turned his thoughts away from his past life and focused on the present. His break-up with his girlfriend and his abrupt decision to go back to the islands. It was all overwhelming, but he knew some good would come from it.

He'd get to see Namine. That was what mattered. It surprised Sora that a small picture could bring such an urgency to see an old friend. But he did. He wanted to see how she was doing and see if she was happy. He wanted to be friends again.

And after all, he had promised her his return, hadn't he?

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A/N: So there you go, Sora and Riku are headed back to the islands. The story is finally on its way…thank god (I hate setting the scene sometimes). So until next time.

Peace


	8. Sora Returns

A/N: Hey Hey, back again a little early for a new chapter. Be warned, it's really nothing special. Just a plot-setting chapter. It's not supposed to be dramatic or moving or anything, it's just to get the plot rolling. So don't expect anything dramatic. Secondly, I don't have the inserts at the beginning and end for a reason. I tried to make some, but none of them were any good so I decided to leave them out.

So…this is pretty much a boring chapter. Flame me if you want about it, I don't care. There are probably a couple of grammar slips here and there, but not many. Once again, this a plot-setting chapter. Nothing special.

Oh yeah, and I love you guys!

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It rarely happened to Kairi that she would feel a certain way on a certain morning. Most times she was grouchy and annoyed for no reason but the bright sunshine shining through her window. Other times she was excited about the day's upcoming events, or even scared if the events were nerve-wracking. However, she rarely ever felt like something was off in the morning. And something was definitely off this morning. The air felt a little thicker, and the birds were chirping a little louder. Now this was only in Kairi's opinion because everything was as it should be. But Kairi felt as if something big was going to happen today, and she didn't know what it was for the life of her.

Putting it to the back of her mind, Kairi stood up from her soft, stuffed animal filled bed and headed downstairs. Her mother was in her office, as usual, and her step-father was somewhere else in the house. Kairi didn't personally care where he was. Her step-siblings were scattered throughout the house making noise, as was common, and not caring for those who liked to sleep in during the summer. Kairi suddenly felt the urge to leave her home. As hard as she tried she never felt much happiness in the house. Her mother didn't seem to care much for her lately after she decided not to go to the college of her choice, her step-father had never given a damn about her, and her step-siblings Kairi swore were from hell.

Looking around the house a little aimlessly, Kairi set her eyes on her cell-phone sitting on one of the couches in the living room. Picking it up, she plopped down on the couch to check for any messages. She found several messages, mostly from Tidus, a couple from some of her friends from high school who wanted to get together before college, and one each from Roxas and Namine.

Kairi sighed and read Tidus's stupid and pointless messages that never made any sense. After laughing a couple times at Tidus's weird comments, she scrolled through the messages from her school friends all the while making mental notes to text them back. Lastly she came to Roxas and Namine's messages. Taking a deep breath, Kairi opened Namine's first.

_hey can u come ovr sumtime 2day, I need 2 talk._

Kairi sighed and rubbed her forehead to relieve some of the tension in her head. She cared for Namine greatly and promised that she'd be there to help her through this hard time she was going through, but Kairi was mentally drained. Namine was depressed and often couldn't keep herself from crying whenever she talked about Roxas and how she was going to care for her baby. It was all very tiring for Kairi, yet she had made a promise and she was going to keep it.

Clicking to her next message, Kairi quickly opened it, hoping that it wouldn't be too depressing.

_Hey Kairi, can you come over to the beach today? It's important. I have something to show you._

Kairi smiled. Roxas always wrote in perfect English, despite how odd it looked in text messages. However, her smile disappeared as she thought about what Roxas had written. What was so important that she had to see it today?

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(A few hours earlier)

Roxas sat quietly atop a tall building in the middle of the city. He'd been coming here everyday since Namine had told him the news of her pregnancy. He still couldn't fully comprehend the whole thing. He'd never had thought Namine would go behind his back and betray him like that. They'd been so happy together, so…in love. Yet it all meant nothing. The baby was proof of that. And Roxas was pissed. He was furious with Namine and he was angry at himself for not seeing the signs. Yet, when he though about it, there were no signs to see.

Roxas's phone started going off, it's ringer loud and annoying. He quickly shut off his phone, not wanting to be bothered at the moment. He'd call whoever it was later. However, he had a feeling he should've answered it. Yet he didn't want to risk it being Namine and was too lazy to check the ID. _Namine…_

The blonde man sighed and looked up at the early morning sky. What a start to what he believed was going to be a horrible summer. Putting the thought of Namine out of his mind, he closed his eyes and tried to relax. It was comforting, this building. No one questions him when he went up here, despite it being a huge business firm. Of course, he happened to have relations in the building that allowed him to come up here, but that didn't mean much to anyone. The air was blowing softly and it was cool enough to bring a hoodie along so as not to catch a chill. All in all, it was what Roxas needed at the moment. Calm and quiet.

Roxas was so used to being up on the roof by himself that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone sit down beside him. He gasped and was about to yell at the person to get the hell away when his mouth fell open.

"What's up?" Sora asked quietly, a little smirk playing on his now older features.

Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when words couldn't come out. Yet his mind was racing with questions_. Why is he here? Is he staying? Why did he come back? Why the hell is he sitting right next to me? Why didn't he tell me he was coming?_

"I told you that when I'd come back I'd meet you here." Sora said, looking at the sunrise. "So I'm here."

"_Well um…I guess it's time to go." Sora said, pulling his messenger bag onto his shoulder. "It was nice…seeing you again, after so long."_

"_It was nice meeting you." Roxas answered in reply. As awkward as he knew it would be, Roxas leaned forward and gave Sora a quick and barely there, hug. Pulling back he blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah um…I'm gonna miss you man."_

"_I'm going to miss you too." Sora said, giving the boy a quick smile before turning to walk down the steps back into the building. He was about to descend the stairway when he stopped and turned back towards the blonde._

"_I'm going to come back…sometime in the future, I will. I still have things to tell you…and well, this is my home." Sora stated, rubbing his arm. "We'll meet here when I get back…I'll call you."_

"_I'll keep my ringer on then." Roxas said with a nod, before Sora turned away_

"You just called me, didn't you?" Roxas said after a moment, letting a smile form on his face. Sora smiled back and punched his arm playfully.

"You could've at least picked it up." He said before running a hand through his hair. "Wow…it's been awhile."

"How'd you find me?" Roxas asked, the shock wearing off. Now he was both curious and excited. Sora was actually here!

"Ah, well I kind of guessed you'd be here. I loved hanging out here when I lived here, so I don't know…guess it's a twin thing."

Roxas couldn't help swinging his arm around Sora's shoulder and giving him a quick hug. "Dude, it's been forever. Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"I dunno, I kind of forgot." Sora said sheepishly. "I'm here because of Riku. You remember him right?"

Roxas frowned in annoyance as he remembered the silver haired bully. "Yeah, you guys still talk?"

"Yeah we're friends now. He's changed, really."

"Hard to believe." Roxas muttered. "But whatever, how long are you staying?"

"The whole summer. Riku's doing composition work for some flic coming up so he's meeting with some guy. I'm just here for the old island bliss."

Roxas laughed and tossed his cell-phone in his hand. Sora smiled and played with the crown necklace he refused to get rid of. "So um, how's everyone here?" He asked after a moment.

Roxas's smile faltered but he quickly put it back up. He didn't want to tell Sora about Namine.

"Kairi's good…" He started. Sora seemed to grow tense as he mentioned her name. "Something wrong?" He asked, noticing the peculiar behavior.

"No, I'm fine. Something wrong with you?" Sora asked, taking note of Roxas's fake smile.

"No, I'm…good." Roxas said looking towards the sky again. "I think…I think Kairi would like to see you."

"I can see her later." Sora said quickly. "Why don't we go down to the beach or something?" He said, trying to change the subject.

"No, Kairi would kill me. I'll call her now." Roxas said, his bad mood gone for the moment. Kairi would be so excited to see Sora.

Sora frowned and sighed a bit in annoyance as Roxas speed-dialed her. Kairi didn't pick up, to his relief, so Roxas sent a text message.

"Well I guess she's still sleeping, so let's head to the beach for awhile."

Sora nodded and smiled but then stopped suddenly. He'd forgotten to ask Roxas something that he'd been wanting to find out for awhile.

"Hey Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"How's Namine?"

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Kairi sighed as she walked through the sand towards the familiar hang out spot. She had decided to talk to Roxas first because of her curiosity. Besides, Namine probably was at work at the moment.

Looking down the beach at the hang-out, Kairi suddenly felt that off feeling she had felt when she had woken up that morning. Something had happened. Upon coming closer, Kairi noticed two figures sitting on the bended tree at the hang-out. One she knew was Roxas, and the other one looked familiar but she couldn't quite place him.

Roxas turned to see her approaching and he motioned for the other man to follow him as he jumped off the tree. The other man seemed to hold back a bit and followed Roxas slowly towards her. As their faces came clearer, Kairi stopped dead in her tracks. She squinted to make sure she was seeing right. She was.

"Sora…?" She said softly, though she knew they couldn't hear her. Her heart leaped in her throat as he approached. She was about to smile at him and tell him she missed him and ask him dozens of questions but stopped when she saw the look on his face.

Sora stood a bit behind Roxas looking both nervous and annoyed. Yet something else was there. And Kairi felt her heart sink as she realized what it was. Sora wasn't happy to see her.

"Hey Kairi…" He said quietly, not looking her in the eye.

And Kairi returned the greeting in her own soft voice. It was Sora, yes. But for some small reason, she felt as if she were meeting a stranger. And then her heart sank just a little deeper. Because the truth of it all was that she _was _meeting a stranger.

She didn't know Sora. And he didn't want to know her.

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A/N: Yeah…I hate this chapter. But whatever. It's really just to get the plot moving. Till later.

Peace


	9. Rude and Unexpected Awakenings

A/N: Because of lack of inspiration, I've decided to leave the headers and footers out unless it's a very important chapter. I just really can't think of anything to write on the boring chapter like this. It'll just sound repetitive. Sorry guys.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews! It feels good to be back. Love you guys. So…on to the story! I think this chapter is a little bit better than the last, so I hope you guys like it.

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Namine slowly made her way up the stairs of the islands' most prominent music school. She'd never been in this building, let alone seen it, till that very morning. She'd heard great things about it, however. It was a very prestigious school and was the center of many musical recordings. The building itself was a sight to behold as well. It was a collection of huge gothic looking buildings with tall gates and ivy running up the side of the various walls. The windows, though aged, were shiny and welcoming and the gardens were beauty in a class of their own. Namine suddenly felt out of place as she reached the main door. She could see music students bustling about headed to and from their summer classes; it was awkward. Namine had always longed to go to college, but her meager finances prevented any chance of that. And, with a baby on the way, Namine knew college would definitely never be in her future.

Upon entering the building, Namine could only silently gap at the beauty of the interior. Antiques and a huge grand piano was the first thing she noticed. The paintings on the extremely high ceiling, the large staircase, and chandeliers were next.

"May I help you?" A voice called from somewhere in the large foyer.

Namine turned her eyes away from a large painting and towards the area she had heard the voice. An elderly woman was sitting behind a desk smiling at her.

"Yes, I'm looking for room…" Namine started, trying to remember the room number. "Um, room 137?" She asked, unsure if that was correct number.

"Ah, room 137. The Wesley Auditorium, it's down that hall on the left. Turn right and there's another hallway, it's at the very end."

"Thank you." Namine said softly, following the woman's directions. She couldn't help but wonder why Kairi had asked her to meet here. They were scheduled to talk today, but Kairi was running late because she had been busy earlier that morning. She had sounded sad over the phone and had asked Namine if she could meet her at this school. Kairi was currently searching for an amateur pianist to play her song during her audition, but Namine didn't know if the red-head could find someone attending such a prestigious school to play her piece. It seemed as if Kairi were desperate.

Approaching her destination, Namine paused at the door. Beautiful sounds of cello music were floating through the closed door. Seconds later violins started up and then piano notes were added into the mix. Namine suddenly felt a feeling of peace in her heart; the music was so soft and subtle. Opening the door, Namine was met with a dark hallway with a light near the end. As she walked down the 

tunnel like hall, the music started getting louder. Approaching the light, Namine gasped at what she saw. She was at the top of a large auditorium, plush seating in rows below her. At the bottom was a stage with a large orchestra. The ceilings were tall and when Namine looked up she could see balconies and large chandeliers. The whole room was very elegant and the blonde all of a sudden felt out of place.

Her awkwardness was then quickly replaced with confusion. Kairi couldn't possible be here, could she? Walking slowly down the steps that led through aisles, Namine tentatively squinted her eyes in search for her red-headed friend. Just as she did this, the music abruptly stopped.

"Ms. this is a private session." A booming voice said, startling the blonde. Namine jumped and turned around to see a large balding man sneering at her.

"I-I'm sorry…I was looking for my friend…"

The man smirked and looked her over slowly. "And I'm supposed to believe that _you_ have a friend that goes to _this_ school?"

Namine blushed and she clenched her fists in anger. She hated being made to feel small and unworthy. She was about to yell at the man when she heard another voice.

"Yes, she's my friend." The voice said from behind Namine. The blonde turned and gasped, recognizing the face immediately despite its older and more mature physique.

"Riku…?"

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(Earlier that day)

"How's Namine?"

Roxas knew that question would come sooner than later. Although he wished it had been the latter. He really didn't want to think about his ex-girlfriend. It was so painful to think of the obvious betrayal and abuse of trust she had shown. He didn't want to think of her, didn't want to remember her face or how warm her hand always felt in his. He didn't want to think about her smile or the kind words she always said to him to make him feel better when he was sad. He didn't want to think about the little things she loved like blue tulips and stuffed giraffes. He didn't want to think about her odd food quirks like chocolate and macaroni & cheese combinations and peanut butter and seaweed sandwiches. He didn't want to think of her tears the day he left her, or the way she called his name begging him to stay. He didn't want to remember her, and hearing Sora ask about her only opened back up wounds that were struggling to heal.

"She's fine." He finally answered, struggling to sound as if nothing was wrong. "We…we're…" He started, trying to tell the truth. "We're fine." He finally finished. He had neither the strength or will to say they were no longer together.

"That's good." Sora said cheerfully, as they made there way down to the beach. "So what have you guys been up to then?"

Roxas gulped and then ran his hands through his hair. "We've been…well you know…" He started, waving his hand as if to dismiss the topic. Sora wasn't having any of it though.

"Um…no, I don't know."

"Yeah well…you know…things."

Sora glanced at Roxas and then stopped walking. The blonde stopped also, glancing at Sora before quickly looking away. Yet he knew Sora had seen the look in his eyes.

"You guys aren't together anymore?" Sora asked slowly, looking Roxas over. Despite how self-absorbed he had become, he was still an expert at detecting emotions, albeit he never really cared to point out these emotions in anyone. Roxas was an exception however.

Roxas looked up at him and nodded. He saw no point in trying to lie to his brother. "Yes." He answered, along with the nod.

"What happened?" Sora asked, looking a bit saddened. "Was it just not working…or something?"

Roxas turned and started walking towards the beach. Sora followed. "You could say that…" He said softly, not wanting to expound on the topic.

"Do you not want to talk about it?" Sora asked after a few moments of silence. Roxas nodded.

"Okay well…how are your parents?" Sora asked, desperate to talk about something else to break the awkward silence. It was obvious that Roxas had recently broken-up with Namine because of his body language and the way he only nodded to answer him.

"They're fine. My parents are still working at the restaurant and we've got good rep now. They've gone to the small islands for the summer so they've let the assistant manager take over until they get back."

"Cool, cool." Sora said uninterested. "And you, are you going anywhere?"

"Me? No, I'm staying here. I've got a job to take care of."

"That sucks."

"I know. What are you going to do; just hang-out until Riku's done?"

"I guess so…maybe do some promotions for my designs."

"Ah, well I don't think you need any. The girls here love your designs already."

"Really? That's…cool." Sora said, trying not to sound haughty. Roxas laughed softly and smiled as they reached their destination. The old bent over tree.

"So…Kairi's changed a lot…like you." Roxas said rubbing his arm in the chilly weather.

"Yeah?" Sora answered, sounding uninterested once again. Roxas nodded and smiled.

"She's like my best friend now." He said, more to himself than to Sora. He was thankful for Kairi, most definitely. She was always there for him…just like Namine had before she cheated. Yet Kairi had always been there in a different way. A friend way. And she couldn't fill the void Namine had left in him. No one could.

"Mhmm." Sora mumbled, interrupting Roxas from his thoughts. "Hey, my secretary Olette came with me and Riku. We all should go out to coffee tomorrow or something."

"That sounds good." Roxas said giving a small smile. He hadn't failed to realize, however, how Sora kept changing the subject when he mentioned Kairi. He briefly wondered why when he turned at the sound of someone's approaching footsteps. He could tell it was Kairi even though she was so far away because she was wearing her favorite yellow hoodie and faded jeans.

"There's Kairi." Roxas said, motioning for Sora to follow him. "Come on." Sora appeared reluctant and slowly slid off the tree behind him.

As they approached, Roxas saw Kairi's mouth open and say his brother's name, though he couldn't hear her voice. When they finally reached each other, there was an awkward silence before Sora finally spoke.

"Hey Kairi…"

Roxas noticed as a flood of different emotions crossed Kairi's face. Happiness, turned to confusion, turned to sadness.

"Hey…" She replied, hesitantly.

It was silent for awhile, neither of them knowing what to say and neither of them wanting to be the next one to speak. Roxas notice this and smiled nervously.

"Um, long time no see, huh guys?"

"Yeah…" Sora muttered, kicking at the sand with his shoe. Kairi looked at him and bit her lip as if trying to hold back tears.

"So…um, how are you?" Kairi asked slowly, twisting her hoodie with the tips of her purple painted nail bitten fingers.

"Fine." Sora answered shortly in return. "Look, I have to go for a bit. I'll see you around Kairi. Roxas, I'll call you tomorrow to set the time for…you know. See you guys." He said quickly, before walking off, leaving a surprised and somewhat unnerved Roxas and desolate Kairi.

They both watched him leave, rubbing their arms in the chilly weather. Both of them felt even colder because of Sora's impolite demeanor.

"Well…that was…" Roxas started, shifting his feet in the sand.

"Awkward, yeah…" Kairi answered, wiping at her eyes despite them being dry. "You want to go out and have some breakfast or something?" She said, quickly changing the subject. Her heart was physically hurting and she wanted to take her mind off of Sora and his rude behavior as soon as possible.

"Yeah, sure." Roxas answered, sensing how miserable she was. He was also a little put-off. He loved Kairi, like a sister, and he didn't like seeing her hurt. Especially by his own brother.

As they walked off in the direction of their favorite restaurant, Roxas couldn't help but feel a little bit more than just put-off. He was sort of angry. He didn't understand why Sora had to be so rude and just walk off like that. He tried to think of a reason why Sora would be upset at Kairi but couldn't think of any. Something was up with his chocolate haired brother, and Roxas wanted to know what it was.

However, that would come later. Right now he had a friend to cheer up. It was only right that he tried because Kairi had always found time to make him feel better when he was upset. So putting the thoughts of Sora away, he smiled and started telling Kairi about the stupid event that had happened yesterday with Hayner and Pence. Like he expected, Kairi smiled. A genuine smile.

And for a second there, everything felt alright.

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A/N: So I'm a little more proud of this chapter…I don't know why though. I probably won't be updating for a little bit because I'm about to start school on Tuesday. But I will be back, believe me. I just need a little time to get used to school. Until then, later!

Peace


	10. A Mother's Melody

A/N: So yeah, it's been awhile. I've been busy, but that's always my excuse so I'm' sorry. This chapter is short for a reason. I wanted to only focus on two characters because if I added more I wouldn't be able to capture some key...feelings...(Hint-hint). Anyways, hope you like. Oh and remember to review, even if you don't like it, review!

xXx

Feeling out of place is a feeling most people like to avoid. People tend to stick to the familiar to avoid such feelings. They stand near their friends, family, significant others, or even people they simply call acquaintances. They rarely go out of their comfort zones to walk across the room to say hello or smile at a stranger. That would mean putting their hearts on the line, and rejection is a far too common feeling felt in humans.

Namine definitely felt out of place standing in the large auditorium with two men staring at her. One was staring at her with a expression that screamed surprise and disgust. The other was merely examining her curiously, one silver eyebrow arched higher than the other.

"You can leave now Matthew..." The silver haired male said after a moment. Namine looked over at the owner of the voice and felt herself blush for no apparent reason. Riku had definitely changed; his deeper voice was a testament to that all on its own.

"Yes, I was just going." The man named Matthew said while passing a glare at the nervous blond. "I hope you know your way out of here, lady." He said, putting emphasis on the last word. Namine blushed angrily though she knew what he had meant was true. She was no lady, just a piece of poor trash.

Both Namine and Riku watched as the heavy-set man stomped away, rubbing his balding spot in anger.

Even when he was out of sight, Namine was too nervous to turn to look at Riku, who on the other hand, was once again studying her. It was only after a few moments that Riku realized the blond hadn't turned to look at him and was wringing her hands nervously. Moving forward, he grabbed her hand, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Hey..." He started, giving her a small smile. "Why don't we go somewhere...quieter."

Namine nodded, glancing at their interlaced hands before pulling hers away. Riku had expected the gesture, but was still slightly saddened despite it.

Minutes later, Namine found herself standing in a large room that held nothing but a grand piano in the center. Paintings and beautiful windows surrounded the room and a fireplace was lit off to the side. Namine would have liked to look around the vast room, but didn't because she once again felt out of place.

"Beautiful room, huh?" Riku said absentmindedly, yet his eyes watched her intently.

"Very..." Namine replied, turning to him. "I love rooms like this...so plain...yet so beautiful. Rooms like this are always so...I don't know...calming." Namine hadn't meant to say all of this, and when she realized she had, she bit her lip feeling stupid. She knew Riku wouldn't see it like she did, especially if he hadn't changed in the years he'd been away.

"Hm..." He said after a moment. "Kind of like you, maybe?"

Namine blushed and looked away. She definitely hadn't been expecting that. Glancing up, she could see a small smile playing on Riku's pierced lips and she couldn't help but give a small one back. Though she'd never admit it to him, that small comment had made her day a little bit brighter.

"It's been a long time..." She said slowly. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Riku sighed and pushed himself up from the wall he was leaning against and walked over to the grand piano, running his hands over it lovingly. "Me neither...yet..." He chuckled softly, lifting the lid that covered the keys of the instrument. "Here I am..."

"Do you play?" Namine asked, watching him. He seemed very comfortable with the huge musical instrument so she could only presume as much.

"Yeah, yeah I do." Riku said, looking up at her with a smile. "It's become sort of...a pastime."

"Oh? I never imagined you of all people would be interested in piano." Namine said teasingly. "Can you...play something?" She asked, her playful mood turned to nervousness once again. She was expected Riku to say no, and was surprised when he simply sat down and asked her what she wanted to hear.

"Oh um...I don't know, anything." She said quietly. Riku nodded and patted the spot next to him on the piano bench. Namine blushed but sat down anyway, folding her hands in her lap.

Riku then started playing a soft melody that instantly brought back memories of her childhood. It was one of her and her mother in a field of daises, she was wearing a pretty white dress that she'd cherished in her young age. Her mother was humming the melody Riku was currently playing. Her father was behind them, smiling proudly at his small family. They were going boating, she remembered, just the three of them. They were all walking towards the lake on a perfect spring day, the air warm but not hot, cool but not cold. It was perfect. So how did she end up like this? Parentless, pregnant, and working three jobs without the most important person in her life? She'd never know.

"Namine...?" A quiet voice said, interrupting her lonesome thoughts. It was then that she realized the tears running down her face and Riku's right hand resting on her arm. She looked up, wiping her tears away hurriedly before meeting his worried gaze.

"I-I'm sorry...the song just brought back memories..." She said sniffling pathetically. "I'm fine."

Riku nodded, but didn't remove his hand. And for some reason, Namine didn't want him to move it either. It was rather comforting, even though they were practically strangers. They sat there for a few moments just staring at each other before Riku removed his hand slowly.

"Do you...do you remember back then when I said all those things...?" Riku asked slowly, nervously wringing his hands together. Namine scrunched her eyebrows together in thought. It had been awhile, but she could definitely remember the day Riku had blatantly mocked her in the middle of the cafeteria. It had hurt her feelings terribly, and even thinking of it now made her heart physically sting.

"Yeah, the day my mom's boyfriend kicked us out...?" She said, rubbing her arms together self-consciously. She didn't like to think about her mother and how many times they were kicked out of homes; boyfriends houses or evictions, both of them hurt.

"Yeah, that day." Riku said, letting out a deep breath. "I know...I know it's like...four years later, but um...I was wrong for that. I was rude and arrogant and...well I'm sorry."

Namine glanced up quickly in surprise. She'd never expect Riku of all people to ever apologize. And added to that, he hadn't blamed her for a thing. He'd merely stated his wrongdoings. And Namine couldn't help but smile. Riku had definitely changed on both the inside and out.

"That song you played...it reminded me of when my mom and dad were still together." She said, running hands over the keys. "We used to go boating on this lake in the spring and summer...I was about four...I don't remember much. But it was...beautiful, you know?"

Riku nodded, watching her as she traced the keys with her small, delicate fingers. "My mom used to sing that song when I was little...I don't know why but, it always made everything better." He said, tracing the keys with his own hand.

Namine smiled. "Something we have in common, huh?"

Riku smiled and looked over at the blond woman whom hadn't seen since so many years ago. "Yeah."

The both sat in silence for the next few minutes, both preoccupied with their own thoughts. Neither of them cared to move away when their tracing fingers collided and neither felt the need to move their arms that were now touching comfortably side-to-side.

During the silence, Namine took the time to scan the beautiful room with its tall ceilings and chandeliers. It's beautiful oak wood floors shined in the lighting and it was then that she realized the purpose of this empty beautiful room. It was a ballroom of which elegant dances were probably held. Namine felt her inner-princess side start to become active as she suddenly imagined herself dancing around the room in a beautiful baby-blue dress that she knew she'd never have. Her imagination consisted of beautiful candle-light, soft music, herself in her blue dress, and Riku?! Namine snapped herself out of her little daydream and blushed deeply when realized what she had been thinking about. She didn't know where the thought of Riku and her dancing came from, but she definitely didn't want to dwell on the idea. Looking up, she blushed a deeper shade of red when she saw that said man had been watching her the entire time.

"You...okay?" He asked, his eyebrows raised curiously.

"Yeah, um...yeah." She said pulling her hand away from his. "Sorry."

The room fell into an uneasy silence, both of them taking small glances at the other every few seconds. Finally, Namine broke the silence with a small, nervous question.

"Will you play it again?" She asked, hoping he would. She loved the melody her mother used to sing and she wanted to hear it again for some reason. It brought her a sense of peace and it would probably ease the uncomfortable feeling that had settled in the room. "And I promise I won't cry this time." She added on with a small laugh.

"Sure." Riku answered, placing his hands back on the keys. Once again the room was filled with the soft melody that held a special place in both of their hearts. Despite her previous words, Namine couldn't help it when her eyes filled with tears once again. And when Riku finished, Namine hurriedly wiped them away again.

"I guess I'm not good at keeping promises." She said, laughing quietly. Riku smiled at this and leaned over, pulling her into a soft embrace that surprisingly wasn't awkward.. And Namine didn't pull away.

"It's nice to see you again." He whispered in her ear.

And for the first time in weeks, she didn't feel worried or nervous or scared. She actually felt at peace.

"Yeah, you too, Riku." She whispered back, closing her eyes with a smile.

xXx

A/N: So hopefully I'll get to write the next chapter soon...hopefully. Well, until my next installment!

Peace (And happy early Halloween!)


	11. How Time Flies

A/N: It's been over a year. I can't believe I'm actually back. I doubt anyone really cares, but I think I should at least try to finish this story. I've been through a lot lately which I've explained in my profile if anyone cares to know why I've been missing. So if I still have any readers, please enjoy. I love you guys. Note, this chapter is short because I'm not sure if any of you guys are interested and because I'm trying to figure out if I should really continue.

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Time always flies when you're having a good time. For Namine, the time flew even faster. It had been so long since she was able to laugh and forget about her troubles. Riku's new persona was very appealing. It was calm, quiet, but also very enthusiastic. He was like a warm blanket on a cold night, or the cold side of the pillow on a hot night. He was simply comforting. So when Namine's phone went off and she looked down at the time, she immediately felt a sense of sadness and panic.

"You have to go?" Riku asked noticing the troubled look on her face.

"Yeah I have a doctor's appointment." She said softly, standing up and gathering her purse.

Riku frowned at this but quickly hid it before Namine assumed anything. "Hey, you want to go out to coffee or something after you're done?" He asked without even thinking.

Namine stopped gathering her things and looked over at Riku. "Coffee…?"

"Yeah, or…or something else if you don't like coffee…" Riku said, voice trailing off in embarrassment. He should've known Namine wouldn't want to go out with him. She sounded so reluctant.

"Tea…can we do tea?" She asked with a small smile. As much as she loved coffee, it wouldn't be good for the baby. Riku smiled at this and Namine blushed deeply. Riku was such an attractive person; he had to have a girlfriend somewhere. At this thought Namine felt an odd sense of sadness which she quickly pushed away to the back of her mind.

"Of course, tea is good." Riku said standing up. "Should we meet up, or should I just accompany you to your doctors visit and just wait till your done?"

Namine blushed embarrassedly. "I'm walking there. My car broke down a couple days back and I don't have the money to pay for it right now."

Riku frowned and touched her arm in a caring gesture. "How far away is the office?"

"About a 45 minute walk."

"I'll drive you. That's too long of a walk." Riku said as he shut the lid of the piano. "That is, if you don't mind?"

"No, I don't mind. In fact, thank you." She said, wringing her hands in embarrassment. "I feel bad, I don't want to trouble you."

Riku looked at her and smiled. "Hey I'm the one who invited myself along. I hope I'm not causing _you _any trouble." And with that he took her arm and they left room.

--

Riku observed Namine as she nervously approached the front desk of the medical office. When asked for identification her hands shakily dug through her purse and her ears were turning a very bright red. Riku started to wonder why she was here and what she was so nervous about. Was she ill? Did she have a fatal disease of some sort? Was she getting results back from a test? What could possibly make her so nervous?

The woman at the desk handed Namine a clipboard of forms she needed to fill out and told her to take a seat. Namine crossed the room and sat next to Riku nervously. Out of politeness, Riku didn't ask her why she was here or why she was so nervous. It was none of his business.

After filling out the forms Namine waited quietly for the nurse to call her name. A few minutes later, a cherry looking nurse walked out of the closed doors of the office.

"Ah you must be the expecting couple. Namine the doctor is waiting for you." She said as she approached.

Both Namine and Riku froze.

The nurse noticed this and her smile quickly turned into a worried 'o' shape. "Oh, oh my, you are not together? I'm sorry, my mistake."

Namine swallowed and felt tears gather in her eyes. What would Riku think of her? Single and pregnant and so obviously poor.

"No, we are not together." She forced out as she stood. "I'll be back in a bit, Riku." She finished in a whisper. Riku nodded dumfounded as she walked away.

She was pregnant. Beautiful Namine was pregnant. Riku found himself feeling incredibly nervous and worried. If she was pregnant, then she had to be dating or married to someone? Why had she not mentioned the father of her baby? Why did she agree to go out with him if she was seeing someone else? Of course, they were only going out as friends, but what if her significant other happened to see them?

Riku contemplated this for about thirty minutes when Namine appeared again. He watched her as she walked up to the desk and nervously pulled out her wallet to pay for the visit. When she glanced inside, her ears grew redder and her hand shook more.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't have…" She started. Riku stood up when he heard this and walked over, pulling his wallet out when he reached the desk.

"I've got it covered." He said to the woman at the desk.

The woman glanced at the two and then nodded her head slowly. "Okay…it'll be 40 munny." Riku handed her his credit card and waited for the transaction to finish. Namine just stood there, too embarrassed to look at him at the moment. She felt helpless and like a leech. She had already ridden in his fancy car and now he was paying for her doctor's appointment. Plus, he knew she was pregnant so he must already feel like she was latching onto him for money.

"Come on. Let's go get tea." Riku coaxed, touching her arm in his gentle manner. Namine was quickly becoming used to these small touches, which was not good seeing as they were as good as strangers.

Once in the car, Namine felt she should at least thank the man for his generosity. He had just saved her from a bad situation and though she was deeply embarrassed, it wouldn't be right to ignore his act of kindness.

"Thank-you."She said slowly, looking at her hands in her lap. Riku looked over and patted her hands with one of his one.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I owe it to you anyway."

Namine looked up at him. "For what?"

"For the way I treated you back in high school. I owe you a lot of things."

Namine smiled. "The past is the past Riku. I forgive you."

"I know, but I still feel guilty." The silver-haired man said, turning into the parking lot of a quaint and cozy looking little tea shop. "They sell really good tea here. I went here a lot when I used to live here."

The two entered the shop and were instantly greeted with the pleasant smells of spicy foreign teas. The place was dimly lit but not dark, the walls painted a comforting mocha brown. A barista approached them and quickly ushered them into a secluded corner, assuming they were on a date.

"Can I take your order?" She asked, once they were seated. She smirked at Namine as if to congratulate her on such a handsome find.

"I'll take green tea." Namine ordered softly with a blush. Her cheeks were starting to feel sore from all the blushing, good and bad, that she had been doing that afternoon.

"I'll take Chai." Riku ordered as he handed the waitress the menus on the table. The Barista nodded and wrote down their order on her pad of paper.

"It'll be about ten minutes." She said and then walked away.

Riku looked at Namine with a serious look. "Namine…at the doctor's office…" He said trailing off. Namine nodded and interrupted him.

"I'm pregnant, yes. I'm about three months."

Riku nodded slowly. "Well the father, you know…get angry that you and I are out today?" He instantly regretted asking this when Namine visibly flinched.

"My baby's father is not, and will never be, in its life."

"Oh...I'm sorry for asking." Riku said, taking her hand in his. "It isn't my place to pry into your business."

"It's okay." Namine whispered.

The barista returned with the tea and set it down. Namine took a sip and sighed as the tenseness in her body slowly wore away.

"So when do you find out if it's a girl or a boy?" Riku asked, changing the topic to something lighter. Namine appreciated this and smiled.

"In about a month. At my next visit."

"That's exciting. Which do you want, or prefer?" Riku asked, sipping his own tea.

"I don't know. I really just want a healthy baby. But I've always wanted a little girl. That doesn't mean I won't be happy with a boy though."

Riku nodded and laughed softly. "Understood. Any name ideas?"

Namine blushed at this and looked away from Riku's gaze. "Yeah, I want to name her Rikku."

Now it was Riku's turn to blush. He knew the name had nothing to do with his own as she had most definitely had it in mind for awhile. It was still rather coincidental though.

"That's a pretty name." He said with a chuckle. "Well whatever you have, I'm sure your baby will be as beautiful as you are."

Namine smiled and sighed softly. "You're so different now, Riku."

"I'm glad. I never want to be that jerk I used to be again. I'm glad that it shows." Riku said, squeezing her hand before pulling it away to take a sip of his tea.

They talked for hours then, about nothing and about everything. They talked about their favorite things and things that drove them crazy. They talked about what they wanted to achieve in life and what they wanted to see before they died. They re-introduced themselves to each other and whatever chain of friendship that was broken was slowly re-built in those hours. And when the tea shop owner kindly told them they were closing they made plans to meet again.

Oh, time really does fly when you're having fun.

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	12. Authors Note

I hate to say it, but I've reached a dilemma.

It's not what I would call a writer's block, but it's something along the lines of it. The past month I've been writing and re-writing the next chapter but it's not what I want it to be. The problem, I've discovered, is my writing style has changed. Over the course of the year that I wasn't updating I wrote a lot of different stories and all of them were in first person narrative. Coming back to this story which is not in first person has made writing it extremely difficult. I feel like I cannot fully express the characters thoughts and feelings while writing in third person.

Along with having difficulty writing in third person, I feel like I no longer know what I'm doing with this story. My feelings about life have changed dramatically over the past year and things I once believed where either wrong or strange I now believe are good and normal (example: homosexuality, foul language in stories…). I also do not like the way I wrote the characters in this story. Sora's character, for example, changed way too dramatically for my current tastes. He seems to be like a whole new character and nothing like his character in the Fallen Portrait.

Because of these things, I have not been able to update this story even though I really want to. I refuse to put out poor work, which I believe my last chapter was. So I've come up with two options:

I scrap this story and not make a sequel for the Fallen Portrait.

I scrap this story and re-write it to make it better.

I want you guys' opinion on this because I don't want to just delete the story without telling anyone why. If you want this story to be continued, please let me know. If you think The Fallen Portrait should stand on its own, please let me know as well. Tell me what you think.

On the other hand, I've got several new stories in the works. Some of them will feature my favorite straight couple (Sora/Kairi) and others might feature my homosexual ones. If any of you have a problem with them, my advice to you is to simply not read them. I'll be positing the summaries for my two new stories in the next week.

Till next time,

BlinkByou


	13. Authors Note 2

Hello all,

Unfortunately I have decided that I will not continue this story. I've had all summer to think about it, come up with new ideas, and figure out the direction I want it to go in, and I've come up with nothing. I feel as if The Fallen Portrait should stand on its own.

I'm sorry to disappoint any of you who wanted this story to be continued. I just have no motivation or will to continue it. Thanks for reading it though, I really appreciate it.

I will probably take this story down because I have lots of new readers to the Fallen Portrait that are getting annoyed about this one being unfinished. I've received a lot of private messages asking me when I'll update it, and to be honest with you all, I'm tired of it.

Thanks so much for being avid readers. Summer is over and my busy work schedule is coming to an end. Hopefully I'll have the time to update my other stories and start new ones.

Thanks for being understanding.

BlinkByou


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